Liverpool are reportedly back in contract talks with Naby Keita, despite speculation that they will sign an RB Leipzig player to replace him.
Keita’s current contract with Liverpool expires in June 2023. This suggests that he could negotiate a pre-contract with a European team starting in January before joining them in the summer.
The midfielder could also completely exhaust his contract and decide what to do once he becomes a free agent.
In July 2018, Liverpool reportedly paid £52.75 million to acquire Keita from Leipzig. They broke their transfer record with this, though Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez have since surpassed it.
Keita was a costly acquisition, so Reds management doesn’t want to lose him for anything at the end of the season or in a winter trade.
As a result, in July, Liverpool officials started contract talks with Keita and his group.
The Guinea international, according to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, ended these discussions on August 17. The journalist claimed the negotiations broke down because Keita was “unhappy” at Anfield at that time.
Several midfielders were heavily linked to Liverpool in the last few weeks of the summer transfer window. And eventually, they did, with the loaned-out arrival of Arthur Melo from Juventus.