Liverpool enter a crucial week in their season with their injury crisis beginning to ease. Andy Robertson is edging closer to full fitness, with Curtis Jones described by his manager as ‘closest’ in terms of a return to first-team action.
One man notable by his absence is Naby Keita. The Guinea captain is still missing from training at the AXA and does not appear close to a first-team comeback. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, are Jürgen Klopp and his team interested in pulling out all the stops to get Keita to sign? Or have we seen the last of the talented but injury-prone midfielder in a red shirt?
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked goal.com’s Neil Jones for his thoughts on the situation.
Neil said:
“We’re in October, a big month for Naby. Obviously, in January he can discuss with anyone outside of England, so January is a significant month in that regard for Keita. There have been some conflicting reports – reports Liverpool are getting more and more confident that he’s going to agree a renewal, then there was, ‘He is going to be used as bait for Bellingham’. I don’t think that was ever going to be even possible: ‘Do you want this lad who has been injured for months, with six months left on his contract, and we’ll have your best player?”
“He’s got to get back playing. He has to get back on the pitch, first and foremost, while he is where he is. What benefit is it Liverpool giving him a new contract? Why would you give him a new contract? What would the terms of that deal be? I’m starting to come around to the thought that we might have seen the last of Naby at Liverpool. I thought for a long term that he would sign a new contract. I thought Liverpool would get that done and recommit.”
Redmen Reacts
The fact that a former record signing could be on his way out of the club for free, following a ‘mixed’ time on Merseyside smacks of a failure in planning and in business. The signing of Andy Carroll did not work out, but the club were still smart enough to receive a good fee for the Geordie target man from West Ham. It has seemed clear for at least a few seasons that the end of the road was approaching for one or both of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Both are now injured for a significant period and look set to leave on free transfers. Opportunities to move either player on for a fee and look to the future of the midfield have been lost. At his peak, Keita would be a first-choice midfielder for many Liverpool fans. Unfortunately, Naby’s peak times are so few and far between, it looks as if his days at Anfield are numbered.
TO HEAR MORE FROM NEIL ON TOPICS SUCH AS THE INTEREST IN JAMAL MUSIALA, CLICK HERE