Revealed: Liverpool to write off £80m after Naby Keita update
Liverpool will write off £80million by letting Naby Keita go for nothing this summer, sources have told Football Insider.
The midfielder, 27, is out of contract at the end of the season and the club have no plans to extend it after his latest injury.
Keita sustained a muscle problem while playing for Guinea during the recent international break and Jurgen Klopp hinted it could be serious enough to rule him out for the rest of the campaign.
That would mean the player who once promised so much has effectively played his last Liverpool match.
The Merseysiders had initially been reluctant to lose Keita for nothing in the summer and held talks on an extension to his current deal.
But those negotiations have failed to secure an agreement, and it was decided months ago he will leave on a free transfer in the summer.
A January transfer was never on the cards for Keita as Klopp was already short of midfield options and Keita had a run of starts after the World Cup.
However, Football Insider injury expert Ben Dinnery revealed that Keita “has only played 26% of the league minutes available since he came to the club”.
As a result, the midfielder’s £52.75million transfer from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2018 can be regarded as a dire piece of business for the club who have prided themselves on their smart recruitment during the Klopp era.
Add wages and bonuses to that and he has cost Liverpool over £80m over the last five years.
During his four-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, Keita has made 129 appearances, scoring 11 goals and supplying seven assists.
The midfielder has been unable to match his regular goal contributions at former clubs Leipzig and RB Salzburg.
In other news, Liverpool bank £105m as Real Madrid payment confirmed