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Naby Keita 'to leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer'

Naby Keita 'to leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer'
© Reuters
Liverpool will allow central midfielder Naby Keita to leave the club on a free transfer this summer, according to a report.

Liverpool have reportedly made the decision to allow Naby Keita to leave the club on a free transfer.

The 27-year-old's current deal with the Reds is due to expire at the end of June, meaning that he is currently free to hold discussions with foreign clubs over a move.

Keita has made 123 appearances for Liverpool since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2018, scoring 11 goals and registering seven assists in the process.

However, he has largely struggled to make his mark for Jurgen Klopp's side, with injuries and a lack of form making it difficult for him to hold down a regular spot in the XI.

Keita has only just recovered from a hamstring issue, and he has featured in Liverpool's last four Premier League games against Aston Villa, Leicester City, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Liverpool's Naby Keita with a late challenge on Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah during the EFL Cup final on February 27, 2022.© Reuters

According to Football Insider, Liverpool have recently held talks with the midfielder over an extension to his current deal, with the club reluctant to lose him for nothing at the end of the season.

However, the report claims that the Merseyside giants have now pulled the plug on contract talks, and Keita will therefore leave on a free transfer at the end of June.

Liverpool are believed to have wanted the Guinea international to take a substantial pay cut in order to remain at Anfield due to his poor injury record.

Keita played the final 22 minutes of his team's 3-0 loss to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, replacing Fabinho for the latter stages of the contest.

Liverpool boss Klopp admitted after the match that his side deserved to lose against the Seagulls.

Brighton & Hove Albion's Solly March celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on January 14, 2023© Reuters

"Congratulations to Brighton, they played an outstanding game. I really thought in moments we made it a little bit too easy for them, but in general they played outstanding and we didn't. We tried to help the boys with slightly different organisation," Klopp told reporters.

"I actually thought it could have worked pretty well; we had moments where it worked well, where we put them under pressure, but in all situations when we won the ball we lost the balls in the moment much too easy. That's the main problem, so it means we never get this something going.

"Brighton was better for the whole 90 minutes, but it is 0-0 at half-time, so it is allowed for us as well to play not a good half. We have a kind of result and let's go from there, but then obviously the second half started with the worst possible start.

"Being 1-0 down and the game it was already clear already that one team is ready to play a really good game and one team fights with themselves pretty much to get something going.

"That's then the worst possible start and that's what everybody saw then. The problems are the same like last week when we spoke about it: we don't win the key battles on the pitch, the key challenges, and we give the ball away too easily."

Liverpool will be bidding to return to winning ways when they travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night for an FA Cup third-round replay.

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Written by
Matt Law

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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