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Rumor Mongering: Naby Keita In Talks With Turkish Club Galatasaray

The Guinean midfielder is free to sign for non-English clubs, with his Liverpool contract winding down.

Liverpool Training Session Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Despite the fact that the winter transfer window has come and gone, Liverpool have several players with contracts that are set to expire. Naby Keita is one of those players.

Although the Guinean midfielder has shown flashes of the brilliant player we thought we were signing from Energy Drink Leipzig, injuries and inconsistent form have conspired to make his Liverpool career a largely forgettable one.

Keita is now allowed to sign for clubs outside of England, and according to the Turkish publication A Spor, his representatives have been contacted by Turkish giant Galatasaray.

One one hand, Liverpool are not exactly in a position to be letting midfielders in their prime years—and Keita is still only 27—go. On the other, Keita hasn’t exactly been pulling up roots during his time on Merseyside.

Keita has made just 81 league appearances in 4 and a half seasons (47% of total league games). His unavailability or poor form is a good case in point about how Liverpool’s transfer policy has always been a bit of a high wire act. One failed transfer in midfield has had long term negative consequences for the club, which has been especially evident in this campaign, as well as the injury plagued 2020-21 season.

All in all, if Keita ends up at Galatasaray, it’ll be a pretty good move for the midfielder. The club currently sits a top the Turkish Super Lig, and will have a chance at Champions League qualification (which does not seem to be in the cards for his current club).

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