Klopp comes clean on Keita talks amid frustration over Liverpool role

Naby Keita Liverpool TEAMtalk

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists he has never doubted the quality of Naby Keita and has lifted the lid on the reassuring words of advice he’s had to give the Guinean midfielder.

Keita, who arrived at Anfield in a £52.7million deal, to much fanfare, in the summer of 2018, has been reduced to a peripheral figure and played a limited role in last season’s Champions League success and the club’s current 33-game Premier League unbeaten run.

The Guinea international gave a reminder of his ability with a goal and an assist on his first top-flight start of the campaign in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Bournemouth.

Reds boss Klopp, who has reassured the 24-year-old about his lack of first-team opportunities, admits the relentless form of his league leaders and a series of tight matches have made it difficult to give Keita minutes.

“Naby had injuries, the team is in really good shape, so then do you change?,” said Klopp.

“We are not flying, it’s not like we won all of the games 4-0, or 5-0, so we had to bring on a player who helps us with defending set-pieces.

“Then Naby is sitting outside thinking, ‘why don’t I play?’ I get all that.

“So we stayed in contact, we talked and we spoke a lot about it.

“But in the end of course a player needs to have this evidence that the manager still believes in you. I was never in doubt about that.

“It was just unlucky and in life you need luck always. He started (his Liverpool career) really well – everybody forgot that – then got injured. And again we had two really good seasons.

“(I was) never in doubt about his quality.”

Klopp, meanwhile, is reported to have regretted his decision to allow Harry Wilson to leave Anfield on loan this summer as the matches come thick and fast for Liverpool in December.

As per the report: “Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has suggested he wouldn’t have let Harry Wilson leave on loan if he had “another choice” in the summer transfer window.

“The German admits that if Wilson had stayed at Liverpool then playing time would have been much harder to come by, but adds he’d have “loved to have had him here” if another choice was available to him.”

 

Wilson was recently ineligible in his side’s clash with his parent club, something Klopp was particularly happy about knowing first hand how dangerous he can be.

“I am happy Harry Wilson cannot play tomorrow. Each free-kick is a proper threat. He has scored nice goals. It is good for him,” said Klopp before the encounter.

“But we have no doubt about Harry’s shooting abilities. His skills in that part of the game is incredible, world class for sure,” added Klopp.

“But he has gone to Bournemouth to improve the rest of his game – being involved, being decisive, being between the lines, using his speed and all that stuff and he makes big steps there. That’s really important.

“They are not on the best run but even there [against Spurs] he scored two goals, nice goals as well, not important enough at the end because they still lost but he kept the game going so good.”