The agent of Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has sent quite a scathing tweet about Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday.
Klopp made a couple of surprising team selections prior to kick off.
Not only did he start 18-year-old Harvey Elliott, one week on from his full Premier League debut.
But the German manager also dropped Keita from the first XI, having started him in the Reds’ first two Premier Leagues – wins against Norwich City and Burnley.
And his clearly-unhappy agent has criticised the Liverpool boss, suggesting that his client – a £52 million signing in 2018 – would’ve helped his side to victory had he been selected by claiming Klopp is ‘solely responsible’ for the dropped points.
Clever management
In fairness to Klopp, it’s no secret that Keita is one of the most injury-prone footballers to pull on the club’s shirt in recent memory.
Despite joining three years ago, the 26-year-old has managed only 34 Premier League starts in that time, mostly due to a lack of fitness.
Keita did nothing to deserve being dropped against the Blues but, by the same token, rotation is going to be massive in keeping him fit and it’s plausible that this was in Klopp’s thinking.
The Liverpool boss wants him available all season long, which is understandable because with Gini Wijnaldum gone he can be a huge asset, perhaps much more so now.
But staying fit between now and May just won’t be possible if Klopp uses him every single week.
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