Jurgen Klopp assures fans that Liverpool are trying to tie Naby Keita down to a new contract. The Guinean has under 18 months left.
Naby Keita is coming up to the end of his Liverpool contract – it expires in 2023. He also finds himself in a strange position at the club, as he’s not quite a starter and battles for games with much younger players.
But Liverpool fans shouldn’t worry, it seems. Jurgen Klopp assures fans that he sees a great future for Keita and that contract talks are underway.
“Naby’s future will be great,” said Klopp, per Fabrizio Romano. “He’s an amazing player.
“All the rest, I understand really that these questions about contracts are constantly happening but the club is in talks with all the agents of all the people.”
Naby Keita at Liverpool
It’s not the definitive answer you’d hope for – Klopp stops well short of confirming things are moving forward or that anything is close. It sounds as though the intention is to keep Keita at the club, though.
And that wasn’t a guarantee. As we mentioned, the likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott threaten to move past Keita over the next few years. Jordan Henderson and Thiago are both comfortably ahead of the Guinean in the pecking order, too.
That’s a difficult position to be in. Fortunately, we’ve seen some fantastic moments from Keita this season. We thought his performance at Old Trafford was world-class and the best of his Liverpool career. You’d expect the club to extend his contract just on the back of that.
Because at his best, Keita is a sensational player and one any club would be thankful for. There’s little doubt that an extension would already be done with if he showed it consistently.
As things stand, Liverpool will want to strike a middle ground with Keita. They’ll want him long-term but he hasn’t quite justified a big contract just yet. Hopefully, the two parties can find what they want.
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