Klopp changes tune over "best midfielder" as Liverpool make transfer decision
There is now an air of inevitability ahead of the summer transfer window at Liverpool in the wake of their calamitous campaign.
Just months after challenging on all fronts in their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple, the Reds are out of the Premier League title race and in need of some divine intervention to avoid a Champions League exit after they were drubbed 5-2 by Real Madrid in the opening leg of their last-16 tie.
Liverpool's faltering engine room has been the crux of their struggles this season: the Reds' midfield has long needed an overhaul and it's expected that Jurgen Klopp will finally get his chance to do so in the coming months.
The likes of Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo and Matheus Cunha have all been linked with a move to Anfield. But while there will be a big focus on incomings, several significant departures are also expected to be sanctioned once the current campaign comes to an end.
One Liverpool star who is seemingly primed for a summer exit is Naby Keita. Gazzetta dello Sport outlined earlier this week that the Guinea international is expected to leave the Reds on a free transfer in the summer as the 28-year-old and Liverpool have 'both decided' that it would be best to part ways when his current contract expires.
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Speculation has been rife that Keita could depart for months, but Klopp has consistently played down talk that the former RB Leipzig man would leave Anfield and even declared that Keita was "one of the best midfielders I ever saw" last January.
It now appears, though, that Klopp has had a change of heart over Keita, whose season has once again been decimated by injuries. The same report claims that Borussia Dortmund are keen on acquiring Keita's services as a replacement for Bellingham, who is likely to have his pick of top clubs when the Bundesliga outfit cash in at the end of the season.
Join the debate! Do you think Liverpool should offload Keita in the summer? Let us know here.
Naby Keita is due to be a free agent in the summer and looks set to leave Liverpool (Getty Images)Keita has, ultimately, struggled to live up to expectations since he was prised away from Leipzig. Former Reds striker Michael Owen told Premier League Productions last week that Keita is "not good enough" for his old club.
He said: “I think that area of the pitch is going to need a bit of surgery and I think it’s going to happen in the summer – everyone can see it. Jurgen Klopp can see it. People talk about the age of the midfield there, whether [James] Milner or [Jordan] Henderson should be replaced. They are still their best players in there – people say they are too old, but they are still the best players.
"Fabinho has been average this season. Really average. Harvey Elliott, when he came on at half-time, he give the ball away more than he kept it. Naby Keita is just not good enough for a midfielder, in my opinion, for Liverpool. It’s all right fans saying, ‘we need to change Henderson, we need to change Milner and get a new youngster in’.
“But they are actually the best of what Liverpool have got, at the moment. It might be the others that need to be changed. Considering their age, they have been doing a sterling job and have been for a long, long time.”
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