Should Liverpool decide to sell Naby Keita in the January transfer window, they’d be likely to receive £20m under his true value.
That’s according to data from software platform Delphlyx. As per a report in The Athletic today, Delphlyx place Keita’s ‘player value’ at £30m-£36m.
However, due to his deal expiring next summer, his current ‘transfer value’ i.e., what Liverpool could reasonably expect to sell him for, is just £10m.
A big loss, then. When you look at what Liverpool actually paid for Keita though, the depreciation is even bigger. The Reds forked out almost £50m for the Guinean in 2017. If they can’t agree a new contract with him, they could be looking at an enormous blot on the books.
Keita’s time at Anfield coming to an end
Keita’s situation at Liverpool has become something of a mystery over the last month. After claims that the midfielder wasn’t happy with his current playing time, his future has become uncertain.
This hasn’t been helped by the no.8 picking up yet another injury in the early weeks of the season. Despite his injury, Keita was also recently called up to play for Guinea at the end of this month.
Jurgen Klopp has since moved to dismiss suggestions that the 27-year-old could play for his country. As far as Klopp is concerned, Keita is injured and that is that.
The back-drop to all of this is of course the player’s contract situation. As things stand, he’s due to leave Liverpool for nothing next summer.
There appears to remain some hope from the Reds that Keita will still sign an extension. But as he yet again proves himself to be unreliable in terms of fitness, the likelihood of this may fade.
As a result, it could make sense to look to get him off the books in January. If Liverpool can find an opportunity to replace him in the winter market, they should go for it.
For all his issues, it would still be a shame to see Keita go. His career at Anfield has never lived up to the promise he showed at RB Leipzig.
But he has contributed to a period of success for Liverpool. He’s a well-liked member of the squad and as per Klopp, has been ‘outstanding’ at times. He would be missed. Liverpool simply can’t afford to keep carrying him, though. Unfortunately, it looks as though his time at the club is destined to go down as an expensive mistake.
