Fabrizio Romano has revealed that he expects Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to join Bobby Firmino in leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
The trio’s current deals at Anfield expire at the summer and it’s unlikely that they will extend their respective stays on Merseyside.
Jurgen Klopp is desperate to strengthen his options in the middle of the park come the summer and with Jude Bellingham believed to be our main transfer target, the exit of Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain would free up some money on the club’s massive wage bill while James Milner could also be heading for the exit.
“I expect both Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to follow Roberto Firmino and leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer,” Romano told Caught Offside. “James Milner will decide in the next months, he will speak to Jurgen Klopp too.
“For all the other players, it will be decided in May/June ahead of the transfer window. Firmino, Keita and Oxlade will explore options soon but nothing is decided yet.”
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Last week it was announced that the current campaign would be Firmino’s last in a Red shirt in news that came as a surprise to many Liverpool fans and even Klopp himself.
Our performances this season have been worryingly inconsistent and you, therefore, get the feeling that a huge summer of transfer business is on the horizon.
If we fail to sign some decent players ahead of next season then we run the risk of another dismal campaign.
The deals we have completed in the transfer market, both inbound and outbound, since Klopp’s arrival back in 2015 have been extremely efficient and we need to get it absolutely right again this summer.
Keita has never lived up to the huge expectations many had for him while Oxlade-Chamberlain has impressed at times but has seen his career impacted heavily by injuries.
Milner, meanwhile, may no longer be the player he once was but with the experience and leadership he brings to the side we’d be happy to see him remain at the club for another year.
I’d like to see Trent out as a midfielder. I think he would give us that penetrating pass in midfield that we have been missing.