Naby Keita is next in line to receive a new deal according to reports.
Liverpool spend the summer locking away a number of key players to long term deals in the summer including captain Jordan Henderson, Alisson and Andy Robertson.
The one player who they could not stop departing after lengthy negotiations was Gini Wijnaldum who after appearing to be set for a move to Barcelona ended up at Paris St Germain.
According to the Express via (Calciamercato), it is for that reason that talks have opened up between the club and the Guinea international whose current deal expires in the summer of 2023.
Keita was signed by Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2017 from RB Leipzig but stayed an extra year at the German club before making his way to Merseyside.
The 26 year-old came to the Premier League with a reputation as a box to box midfielder with a ‘superb range of passing’ and his all-action style was likened to Chelsea star N’golo Kante.
Without being too critical, It is fair Keita has fallen short of those expectations with the midfielder who cost in the region of £50million falling well short of expectations.
Part of that reason is that Keita has not been able to string a level of consistency together in his time at the club.
Collectively he has missed more than a season (55 games) due to different ailments ranging from thigh and groin strains, a long term ankle ligament injury and Coronavirus.
To call him injury prone at this point of time would be correct, but an interesting fact is just like Joel Matip, Keita missed minimal football due to injury before coming to England.
But unlike the central defender, when Keita has returned from layoffs it has taken him a great deal of time in getting his game up to speed.
It has led to many fans questioning his overall worth to the side and whether he will ever reach his true potential at Liverpool.
The frustrating thing about Keita who has made 80 appearances and scored seven goals in his time at the club is that when he is on his game, you can see the talent he possesses.
Conversely, at times he looks like a square peg in a round hole but despite that, Jurgen Klopp still sees Keita as a important member of the first team squad.
An illustration of that point is that Keita has already started two league games this season along with the opening Champions League encounter with AC Milan.
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.