West Ham and Newcastle want Naby Keita as the Liverpool midfielder heads towards the end of his Anfield contract.
Liverpool thought they were signing a game-changing midfielder when they agreed to sign Keita.
The Reds were so convinced that they paid above Keita’s release clause to secure a £53million deal a year in advance of his arrival.
Keita had been an outstanding box-to-box midfielder in Germany but has failed to really replicate that form at Liverpool.
Injuries have been a big problem for the Guinean star but he also hasn’t really taken his chances when fully fit.
West Ham and Newcastle want Naby Keita
That means we are now heading towards a situation where Keita becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Keita’s contract comes to an end next summer and there has been no indication that he will be staying at Liverpool.
Earlier this week, 90Min claimed that Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are all interested in signing Keita.
There now appears to be two more Premier League clubs in the mix in West Ham United and Newcastle United.
Milan Live report that AC Milan would like to sign Keita and have been fans of him for a long time.
Yet it’s also added that West Ham and Newcastle are keeping tabs on Keita with Borussia Dortmund keen too.
This isn’t the greatest source going but if we go along with these claims for a moment, would a move to West Ham or Newcastle benefit Keita?
You can look at the face value and suggest that heading to Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham may be more appealing than Newcastle or certainly West Ham.
Keita needs first-team football though and he may be given more of a starring role should he head to St James’ Park or the London Stadium.
That’s something Keita needs to seriously think about; his time at Liverpool has seen him come in and out of the team either due to selection or injury.
A fresh start is needed but maybe Keita should consider just moving out of the top six to find his best form again.
Keita was a key man at Leipzig and it may take recapturing that status with a team like West Ham or Newcastle to get him back to his best.
Newcastle should be somewhat appealing given their exciting project and encouraging progress under Eddie Howe.
We can still imagine Keita heading back to Germany if he’s going to leave Liverpool but the claims of Newcastle and West Ham chasing him just give the midfielder something different to consider.
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