Naby kieta running out of time at anfield to justify the hefty £53m transfer fee Liverpool paid to acquire him from Salzburg.
Kieta will have to justify his big money move to Liverpool or might be shown the exit door at anfield , it’s a now or never situation for naby at the mereyside club.
The Guinean who his entering his fourth season at Liverpool has star for the Reds during pre-season, but can he stay fit long enough to make himself a key part of Jurgen Klopp’s side following the exit of Wijnaldum .
Naby Kieta Running Out Of Time At Liverpool
A tactical decision, Klopp said. Keita didn’t play another minute thereafter, though, as the Reds salvaged their season to finish third in the Premier League. That’s not a good sign, not for a man who remains the third most expensive signing in the club’s history.
The £53 million ($74m) Liverpool paid was held up as a potential bargain at the time, such were his performances for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, but the truth is he has rarely come close to justifying that price-tag since. If Liverpool were to sell now, they’d do well to get half of that fee.
Not that they are looking to sell, mind. There were some suggestions earlier in the summer that Keita and his representatives were unhappy with Klopp, and whispers of interest from Atletico Madrid, among others, but the line from Liverpool has always been the same; Keita is not for sale, and remains a key part of their plans.
Now Or Never For Baby Kieta
“His long-term future is here,” said Klopp back in May, but the German knows that something needs to change this season. Keita excites him, but Klopp needs more; more appearances, more consistency, more luck.
The pre-season signs are good, but then they often are. Keita has looked good during Liverpool’s summer camp in Austria [and now France], and was a stand-out performer during the recent friendly matches against Mainz and Hertha Berlin.
Against Hertha, he created the Reds’ first goal with a piece of trademark play, winning the ball strongly in midfield before releasing Mo Salah with a perfectly-weighted through-ball.
It was a moment which encapsulated exactly what he can bring to Liverpool, and helps explain why there is so much frustration among supporters that they have seen it so fleetingly.
“His quality is undisputed,” Christoph Freund, sporting director at Keita’s former club Salzburg, told Goal back in March. “But the injuries mean he has not got into the rhythm he needs to be able to show that.”