Less than an hour after RB Leipzig were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Hertha Berlin on Wednesday evening, a report emerged which poured ice cold water all over the most keenly anticipated Liverpool transfer prospect at this point in time.

As per The Mirror, Liverpool have "withdrawn completely from any talks over the striker and will not pursue his signature" after deciding not to activate his release clause (supposedly in the region of £50m) given the financial uncertainty which looks set to engulf football for some time yet.

The report goes on to state that Liverpool expect to take a hit of at least £100m in terms of income over the next 12 months, and that they now value Werner at “significantly less than £30m” in the current market (which, even in these circumstances, sounds ludicrously cheap for a player of his calibre).

Now, it may well be the case that Liverpool have indeed put any summer transfer plans completely to one side in order to cut costs, and that Jürgen Klopp is fully prepared to head into 2020/21 – whenever it rolls around – with more or less the same set of players as this season.

But it’s difficult to escape the feeling that this isn’t just a dead end for the Werner-to-Liverpool transfer saga (if we can call it a ‘saga’ already), but merely the first major bend in the road with many more twists and turns still to come.

Werner clearly wants to play for Liverpool, and Liverpool clearly hold strong interest in him. Klopp wouldn’t have been chatting to him over video call in recent weeks if that wasn’t the case. As we know with the belated manner of Virgil van Dijk’s arrival from Southampton, Klopp doesn’t just give up on players he really wants, even if he has to wait a while longer than he ideally would’ve liked.

The Liverpool Echo, meanwhile, suggest Liverpool haven’t withdrawn their interest as such, because no concrete discussions over a proposed transfer have actually taken place with RB Leipzig at this stage.

We’ve been here before, of course, with multiple Liverpool transfers in the past. There was a point when Liverpool were supposedly never going to meet Roma’s asking price for Alisson, and there was once a time when talks for Naby Keita looked to have reached a complete standstill.

Ultimately, anything can still happen. It could be that Klopp has a personal agreement with Werner, for instance, and that Liverpool have told him they will make a move next summer instead once there is more clarity around the wider situation. Or, perhaps, they’re using this ‘walk away’ tactic as a bargaining chip of sorts to see if there’s any chance of persuading Leipzig to cash in for a slightly lower fee this summer. Either way, I suspect this one is far from over just yet.

Most importantly, though, Klopp, Michael Edwards and FSG have more than enough credit in the bank now to be trusted with whatever decision they arrive at regarding Werner. Many people (myself included) questioned the decision not to strengthen last summer, and they went on to deliver the greatest league season (so far) in Liverpool’s history. If they pursue a similar strategy again, it’ll be with good reason.

In the meantime, we can live in hope that Werner will still arrive through the gates of Melwood one day, sooner or later.

What I'm reading on Liverpool.com

- This was an interesting read from Dan Morgan on Harry Wilson, Marko Grujic and Rhian Brewster, and why Liverpool's expected lack of transfer activity might increase their prospects of first team opportunities next season.

- I'm fascinated by the rapid rise of Alphonso Davies from Vancouver Whitecaps winger to Bayern Munich's first choice left-back. David Hughes explains in detail why more top clubs should be scouting talent in the MLS.

What else I'm reading

- The Danish Superliga will be the second European league to restart its season, kicking off with AGF Aarhus vs Randers FC tonight. They've taken a very innovative approach to livening up the behind-closed-doors spectacle by placing fans on large screens via live zoom call on the sidelines, which you can read all about in The Guardian here.