Naby Keita’s time at Liverpool divides opinions to say the least. Apart from some moments where Keita looked unplayable, he has been a disappointment. This gives Liverpool a difficult decision to make…
When Liverpool signed Naby Keita in 2018 for a £52.75 million price tag, it looked like a great move. Liverpool were so confident in his ability, that they signed him on a pre-contract. In that season, the midfielder registered nine goals and seven assists from 39 games in the domestic league and cup action as well as in the Champions League and Europa League.
We were left watching with our mouths gaping wide. He was also given ‘8’ as his squad number, which illustrates the expectations that he had to carry. But his time at Anfield he has been underwhelming, to say the least. a combination of injuries and inconsistencies has made him a second-tier midfielder at Liverpool. At this moment, Keita is a deputy to Thiago at the left side of the midfield and a deputy at the right to Jordan Henderson. The emergence of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot further erode his chances in the first team.
This is really heart-breaking, as Klopp clearly still believes in Keita and everybody wants him to succeed. He has had matches where it seemed that Keita has finally conquered his demons, but each time injuries or sub-par performances stop him in his tracks.
Liverpool have a decision to make on Naby Keita
This brings us to an important Keita decision.
Liverpool haven’t recouped any money from Mario Balotelli, Jose Enrique, Lazar Markovic, Emre Can, Daniel Sturridge, Alberto Moreno, Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana and Gini Wijnaldum as they have all left the club on free transfers. Liverpool spent £154 million on these transfers. This is a front that certainly needs addressal. The Reds are on this crossroad again as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Sadio Mane, Bobby Firmino and Mohamed Salah will be in the last years of their contracts.
The dilemma in selling players like Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the money on offer. Chamberlain has a valuation of £16.20 million while Keita has a valuation of £28 million. Thus, selling them (if possible) would be at a loss.
We just hope that Keita picks up his performances to make the decision easier for Julian Ward and Michael Edwards.
