Liverpool tipped to not offer a new contract to Naby Keita
Writing in his column for Football Insider (h/t Liverpool Echo), Gabriel Agbonlahor has predicted that Liverpool may not look to renew the contract of Naby Keita.
The Guinean superstar is set to enter into the last year of his current deal at Anfield four years after joining the Merseysiders. Signed for around £48million, Keita hasn’t really had a glorious time at Liverpool.
And Agbonlahor, an icon at Aston Villa, believes that the Reds may not renew his deal beyond the summer of 2023. That would certainly raise a dilemma for Jurgen Klopp and co.
“Keita is on and off, he doesn’t score enough goals and can be a bit wild in his play. He’s not lived up to the price tag at all. I’m sure Liverpool should be looking to part ways.”
So, should the Reds part ways this summer in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer next year- granted they don’t want to offer a new deal- or do they let him leave as a free agent, as they did with Georginio Wijnaldum last year?
“They need two top-class midfielders in there. [Jordan] Henderson is 31, he’s not going to be playing as much. Fabinho is your one starter and Thiago gets injured a lot. They need two midfielders for me. I don’t see them renewing Keita.”
That is certainly a tricky question to answer because, of course, the Reds would want a good sum of money if they see a player like Keita depart. At 27, he is in his prime years and was signed for a big sum four years ago.
Moreover, they have an urgent need for depth in midfield. Rather than weakening their squad, they would be wise to instead add players to that.
Keita certainly divides opinion within this fanbase. Most LFC fans will vouch for his quality- and he has been very good whenever given the chance to play for an extended period of time.
But some of them may already be fed up with his constant injuries and unavailability over the course of the season. Even if he largely kept fit in the latest campaign, that worry would still linger.
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According to the Athletic at the beginning of this month, as covered by TheKopTimes, the Reds are hoping to extend the former RB Leipzig star’s deal. It seems that would be the smartest thing to do, and then take a call on whether they want to offload him in the coming years.
