Naby Keita’s fall from grace has been nothing short of spectacular since the midfielder left Liverpool for Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen last summer.
The 29-year-old won seven trophies with Liverpool, including the Premier League and the Champions League, but badly struggled with injuries on Merseyside and joined Werder Bremen on a free transfer last summer.
Werder’s sporting director Frank Baumann described the move as a ‘no-brainer’ on the basis of his proven pedigree and an exceptional two-year spell with RB Leipzig before signing for Liverpool.
However, Keita’s experience in Germany continues to go from bad to worse, with the Guinea international making just one competitive start for Werder – and only five appearances in total – across the entirety of last season.
Keita’s rapid decline has been a sorry tale and the player – once named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season – has been branded the biggest transfer flop in Werder’s history.
According to Sport BILD, Keita has cost Werder €6,818 a day for his 107 minutes of Bundesliga action and the club were ‘desperate’ to get the former Liverpool man off their books in the summer.
Keita had appeared set for a loan switch to Hatayspor after passing a medical with the Turkish Super Lig outfit, only for the midfielder to pull out of the move before the transfer deadline.
The report claims Keita has ‘no chance’ of breaking back into Ole Werner’s squad and Werder bosses are hopeful the player will ‘leave in the winter at the latest’, with talks ongoing over a move to the Chinese Super League.
On Werder’s official website, Keita sticks out like a sore thumb as the one player not to have a picture beside his profile and is now only listed with his name and No.18 shirt number on the squad page.
Keita is on eye-watering wages of around £170,000-a-week at Weserstadion, which works out at around £2million-a-year.
His current contract with the Bundesliga club runs through to the summer of 2026.
After a 2-1 defeat away to Union Berlin in March, Werder head coach Werner explained why Keita had been limited to just one start in an immensely disappointing debut season with the club.
‘He’s missing explosiveness, liveliness, pace, and a clean touch,’ Werner told reporters.
‘The important thing for him is to take the first step and recommend himself regularly in training.
‘Of course, we support him. That’s our job. He’s been accepting of our decisions, yet remains impatient because he wants to play.’
‘We know what he’s missing,’ Werner added.
‘We need to get him into more training sessions. The important thing is to get him back training consistently.
‘Then I believe he can improve step-by-step and his dynamism and rhythm will return.’
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