Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Naby Keita ‘is ready for a new challenge’ ahead of his expected exit from Liverpool this summer as a free agent.
The Reds were understood to have held talks over a possible extension for the Guinean international, though with the club understood to be keen on a midfield revamp, it seems fresh pastures are calling for the No.8.
“Liverpool want a refresh in the midfield, so Naby Keita will leave as free agent; also the player is ready for new challenge, there are some approaches but nothing advanced yet,” the Italian reporter exclusively informed CaughtOffside. “He wants to take his time over deciding his next move.”
The former RB Leipzig star’s time at Anfield will always invite a mixture of head-scratching and thoughts of what could have been given the obvious talent he possessed.
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Repetitive injuries and inconsistency have since become the calling card of Keita (described as possessing unbelievable quality by Peter Gulacsi on the club’s official website, via GOAL), however, with the midfielder never fully trusted over the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara.
Whilst we’re not quite prepared to label the former Bundesliga man a rare ‘Klopp flopp’, it’s become abundantly clear that the player’s move to L4 didn’t quite turn out how the coaching staff or recruitment team expected.
With senior figures in the squad now struggling to meet the demands of the manager’s style of football, it’s absolutely critical that no such further errors in judgement occur in the next summer window.