Jurgen Klopp got a heck of a lot right during his time at Liverpool and the signings he made in the transfer market, but one big money player who flopped at Anfield under his leadership is due to leave his new club after a nightmare spell.
Klopp departed Liverpool over the summer after nearly a decade of success on Merseyside, which saw the German win the Premier League, Champions League, the FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and two League Cups.
Klopp is due to become Red Bull's head of football from the start of 2025, while his successor at Anfield, Arne Slot, has taken Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table.
Advert
During his time at Liverpool, Klopp made a host of signings which have gone down to be very good decisions indeed, particularly when it comes to the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.
But no manager gets every signing right, and that proved to be the case with the acquisition of Naby Keita.
The midfielder joined Liverpool in the summer of 2018 from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £52.75m.
However, despite Keita picking up several honours at Anfield, the signing proved to ultimately be a flop after the Guinea international managed 11 goals in 129 games across five seasons - with injuries limiting him to only 49 Premier League games.
Keita ended up leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2023 on a free transfer after being deemed surplus to requirements by Klopp and subsequently returned to the Bundesliga by joining Werder Bremen.
However, the 29-year-old's time at Bremen has not gone well, and he has made only five appearances for the German club.
The midfielder has not featured at all this season after he refused to board the team bus ahead of a game against Bayer Leverkusen in April earlier this year, effectively going on strike.
Now, German outlet Kicker reports that Keita will head out on loan to Hungarian side Ferencvaros in January in a loan deal which will last for a year as it claims he has 'no future' at the Bundesliga side.
Upon the conclusion of Keita's loan deal, he will have six months left on his Werder Bremen contract, with the German club reported to be paying a 'large part' of the midfielder's wages.
It is also reported that Ferencvaros could opt to make the deal a permanent one in the summer of 2025, if they so wish.
Manager Ole Werner confirmed the midfielder needs to leave the club earlier this season, while Werder sporting director Clemens Fritz outlined previously that Keita essentially had no future in the club's first team and that both parties were seeking a parting of ways.
He said: "It was a very open conversation in which we came to the joint decision that this is the most sensible way forward in the current situation. On the one hand, we want to focus fully on the rest of the preparation and the start of the season.
"On the other hand, Naby had also been thinking about it for some time. Since his sporting situation has not changed again, he would like to look for a new challenge. Together with his agent, we want to make this happen as soon as possible."
Topics: Naby Keita, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Werder Bremen, Bundesliga, Transfer News, Transfers
John McDougall