James Pearce has made it clear that Naby Keita will not be sold this summer, with the club likely to suffer a significant loss if they were prepared to part ways with the midfielder.
Heralded by some as the heir to Steven Gerrard, the No.8 has far from filled the former skipper’s boots, with injuries plaguing his time in Merseyside.
“Unless there’s a dramatic change of heart, Keita is staying put,” the journalist wrote for The Athletic.
“He has looked very sharp in pre-season. The big question is whether he can stay fit and belatedly show us all on a consistent basis what we know he’s capable of.
“I can see the club’s logic. He cost £52.75 million. If Liverpool had tried to sell him this summer in the current COVID-affected market they would have been lucky to get £15 million for him.
“That would have been a hefty loss and Klopp genuinely still believes in him.”
Jurgen Klopp’s men are nonetheless thought to remain interested in securing a replacement for former No.5 Gini Wijnaldum, whose durability is likely to be highly missed in the next season.
READ MORE: James Pearce points to worrying gap Liverpool need to address this summer
The Guinea international has been a constant source of frustration for fans since his transfer from RB Leipzig.
After being pulled before the stroke of half-time during our away defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last term, with Klopp offering the midfielder limited game time beyond that point, it seemed plausible that he would be sacrificed in the summer window.
With Keita set to be handed yet another chance, however, fans will no doubt be hoping to see the former Bundesliga star finally justify his price-tag.
Otherwise, many may feel that we should have cut our losses while we could.
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Liverpool in serious danger of repeating last summer transfer window’s major mistake