In response to John Barnes’ comments on Naby Keita’s Anfield future, a few Liverpool fans gave their opinions on whether the club should keep or sell the midfielder.
A considerable number of supporters appeared to be in favour of the side cutting its losses and parting ways with the Guinean, with one Twitter user urging the Reds to “sell or swap for Haaland”.
The No.8, heralded by some as Steven Gerrard 2.0, has enjoyed a mixed bag of performances throughout the course of his Anfield career, with a first-half substitution in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League inspiring fresh concerns.
“I don’t know what his future holds at Liverpool because I’m not privy to discussions and how they feel about certain a player, but I do think that it’s fair to say that he’s been inconsistent,” Barnes was quoted as saying. “So yes, it hasn’t worked out for him and it’ll be interesting to see what Liverpool decides to do.”
As we approach the season end and the recruitment team gear up for a relatively busy summer, decisions will undoubtedly be made about those filtering in and out of the first-XI – the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, for instance.
It’s particularly difficult to determine how we approach the Keita conundrum, given how much fanfare he attracted upon his arrival from the Bundesliga and his obvious talents.
Three seasons in, we’ve yet to see the 26-year-old truly fly at the club, which may suggest that time will be called on his Liverpool career; a decision we wouldn’t envy Jurgen Klopp having to make.
You can see some of the fans’ reactions below:
Keep. I think he has shown enough and can be a good player in the future. Still young enough to sort his body out and we will need him if Gini goes.
— Robbie Greene (@robbiegreene14) April 10, 2021
Sell or swap for haaland
— Flava Clearwater Silva 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@silva_flava) April 10, 2021
I feel he sits in the Minamino category for me.He is just not getting enough regular game time to assess properly . Even when he does its in a bit of a make shift XI and too much expected . He is the sort of player , if sold, could really do well with a consistent run in a team.
— 《Ali Clarke》 (@AliClarke8) April 10, 2021
You could argue that he has not had a good run in the side but he's very injury prone, and then you have Jones, who for me is a better player so i think they should move him on.
— mark smith (@marksmi34751282) April 10, 2021
Klopp knows how good he is; probably why he rushed him back for the Madrid game. The lad has just been unlucky with injuries. And it wasn't like this before he came here. Attitude like this is why I don't blame players who lookout for themselves first
— Ugo Ragga (@RaggaUgo) April 10, 2021