Liverpool could still sell Naby Keita this summer, as the end of the transfer window speeds into view.
That’s according to Sky Sports journalist Emma Paton, who claims that Liverpool ‘haven’t ruled out’ selling the 27-year-old in the next two weeks.
Speaking on Sky earlier this afternoon, Paton suggested that talks were set to talk place between Keita and Liverpool.
“This line came into us for yesterday evening from Sky in Germany and they’re reporting that Naby Keita is unhappy with his current situation at Liverpool and he wants more playing time. There were talks over a contract extension, those have since stopped and a departure before the transfer deadline two weeks today hasn’t been ruled out,” said Paton.
“He’s set to have talks with the club. We understand that these talks and these discussions are ongoing at the moment with Keita and his representatives. I also want to make clear that the relationship is good with the player and with the club as well and they have not been made aware that he’s unhappy at the moment.”
This goes one of two ways for Liverpool
It would seem that someone, somewhere is playing a little bit of a game with Liverpool. Whether or not the end-game is for Keita to leave the club or to secure a bigger contract remains to be seen. It’s likely that we’ll find out the answer over the next two weeks.
What it does do is throw extreme doubt into Keita’s immediate future at Liverpool.
As The Reds attempt to come to terms with a bit of a shortage in midfield, this really is the last thing they need.
If Keita is trying to engineer a move away from the club, then why didn’t he do it earlier in the window? Jurgen Klopp has been clear in the past. If a player comes to him and says he wants to move on in good time, then that’s absolutely fine.
We saw it most recently with Sadio Mane. Liverpool knew for some time that the 30-year-old wanted to move on. That gave them time to bring in Darwin Nunez and negotiate the best price they could get for Mane.
If Keita really is pushing for a move, then this would seem like the polar opposite of that approach. It would leave Liverpool with little time to sort out a replacement. It would also leave him with less options for an escape.
On the other hand, it could be a negotiating trick for a new deal. The 27-year-old has arguably earnt himself an extension following good form during last season.
With talks dragging on for a while with no result, maybe his agents have decided to up the ante. As we say, we’ll soon find out which way this goes.
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