RB Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff has revealed that the Bundesliga club cannot afford to let Liverpool target Timo Werner enter the final year of his contract.
The German striker has a contract with the club that runs until the summer of 2020 and has been linked with a move to England as well as to Bayern Munich.
The 22-year-old has been in superb form this season, scoring as many as eleven goals in 17 Bundesliga matches, one more than Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski.
Mintzlaff, the chief executive of RB Leipzig, insists his club cannot afford to allow a player of Werner's stature to enter the final year of his contract with the possibility of his price falling.
"Of course, we have to know at the latest after the end of the season", Mintzlaff told German magazine Kicker.
"Of course, a club like us cannot afford to go with Timo Werner into the final year of his contract."
The chief executive also took time to insist that it is natural for clubs across Europe to be interested in such a talented player.
"It's logical that such a player should be courted by clubs that have a very different sporting perspectives and different financial possibilities than we have, but as long as we evolve as a club, Champions League participation would be very helpful."
Werner has been clear that to move up a level he will have to eventually leave RB Leipzig.
