‘Klopp said no’ to Naby Keita approach in January but player looks set to follow Sadio Mane – report

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Naby Keita is one of several Liverpool players whose contract is set to come to an end this summer and it looks increasingly likely that our No.8 will leave the club on a free transfer.

Writing for CaughtOffside, German football expert Christian Falk said: “I think it’s more likely that Naby Keïta will leave Liverpool [rather than sign a new contract]. He’s with the same agency [ROOF] as Sadio Mané and the agency has already said, as was the case with Mané, that he won’t sign a new contract.

“He’s a free agent in the summer and it’s worth remembering that RB Leipzig knocked on the door for the midfielder in January but Klopp said no.

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“I think there’s a good chance of Leipzig signing the player. Keïta is playing at Liverpool but could get a good place in the Leipzig team.

“It seems like a bit of a business model for Leipzig to sell their players to English clubs in big deals before later bringing them back cheaply. We’ve seen this with Timo Werner who left for Chelsea in a €53m deal – they got him back two years later €20m. They sold Keïta to Liverpool for €60m and now they can get him as a free agent. It would be a good deal for Leipzig and Keïta can see there being playing opportunities for him back in Germany.”

It seems as though it may be a return back to what the Guinean knows well, with his performances for Leipzig enticing the Reds into signing the player back in 2017 ahead of his move the year after.

The 28-year-old, it seems, could have left for his former club in January too but we made the decision to keep the midfielder at Anfield for the rest of this season.

With a revamp of the squad expected this summer and especially in his position, it never seemed likely we would renew the contract of the Premier League winner but this seems to rubber stamp the belief that he will be following Sadio Mane in leaving Merseyside for the Bundesliga.

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