Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is set to leave the club this summer, according to a fresh report.
The Reds are in calamitous form - a 3-0 defeat to Brighton at the weekend was the latest in a season marked by poor performances.
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp ranked the south coast defeat as probably the worst of his coaching career, which is some feat given Borussia Dortmund flirted with relegation during his final season there.
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Liverpool, who were last season’s Champions League finalists, are now languishing in ninth place, some 19 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The club are in desperate need of a rebuild, with World Cup stars Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez having been linked with big-money moves to the Merseyside club in the past few months.
However, several midfielders are also due to leave the club.
Keita to leave Liverpool
Sources have told Football Insider that Liverpool have pulled the plug on contract talks with Keita.
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The midfielder has impressed from the bench in his three Premier League appearances this term, having been sidelined through injury for the first half of the season.
The Reds have been reluctant to lose Keita for nothing in the summer and held talks with the player on an extension to his current deal. However such negotiations have reportedly failed to result in an agreement.
Indeed, Liverpool reportedly wanted Keita to take a pay cut due to his poor injury record. The 27-year-old has only played 26 per cent of the league minutes available to him since joining the club.
Losing Keita for free will come as a big financial loss for Liverpool considering Liverpool paid £52.75million for him from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2018.
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He is likely to depart Merseyside alongside fellow midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Juventus loanee Arthur Melo this summer.
Topics: Football, Liverpool, Transfers, Naby Keita, Jurgen Klopp