Borussia Dortmund consider Naby Keita to be a transfer target, according to reports. It opens an interesting option for Liverpool.
This comes from Sport Bild. They claim that Borussia Dortmund like the look of Naby Keita and could make a move for him in 2023.
Keita, of course, played the best football of his career in Germany. He shone for RB Leipzig, earning his big-money move to Liverpool in 2018. Every team in the Bundesliga would be eager to have that kind of form going forward.
And there’s a bonus. Keita is out of contract next summer, allowing Dortmund to offer him a pre-contract as soon as January 1st. Liverpool have a lot to think about, then.
Dortmund consider Naby Keita
The first thing that comes to mind here is how it could play into a deal for Jude Bellingham. Liverpool want the player and here’s Dortmund potentially finding a replacement.
Now, if Keita wasn’t out of contract next year, Liverpool could easily try to include him in any deal. Instead, they’re in a very weak negotiating position with it all.
The Reds can’t even try to sell Keita to Dortmund in January as part of a deal. We imagine Dortmund view the Guinean as Bellingham’s replacement, meaning they wouldn’t need him until next summer anyway. Plus, they can sign him for free at the end of the season – why negotiate a transfer for a fee in January?
The only option, then, would be for Liverpool to essentially let Keita join Dortmund for free in January. That might tempt them to knock some cash off of Bellingham’s eventual fee, or at least provide the Reds with priority in any deal.
But we’re not sure that’s even possible. Bellingham almost certainly gets his pick of clubs, when it all comes down to it. If he wants Real Madrid, for instance, there’s nothing Liverpool can really do about it.
So as things stand, we think Dortmund might sign Keita for free in a deal that has no real bearing on Bellingham.
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