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EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool name price for player with seven Premier League starts

Liverpool are ready to cut their losses on Naby Keita this summer if they receive a bid of around £35m after another injury-ridden season, Anfield Central is told.

The Guinean arrived at Liverpool with high expectations after becoming one of the best in the Bundesliga. His signature cost £52.75m but through no fault of his own, his time at Anfield has been decimated by consistent injuries.

Keita has made just 76 appearances in all competitions since 2018 and for reference, one of Liverpool’s fittest players, Andy Robertson, has made 144 appearances in the same time frame.

This season, with injury forcing him to miss 97 days through four different issues, the 26-year-old has made just 7 Premier League starts and is really battling to make the impact that he was expected to.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Naby Keita of Liverpool during a training session at Melwood Training Ground on September 29, 2020 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Nobody wants Naby Keita to succeed at Liverpool more than me. He’s my favourite player to watch and I adore the way he’s able to manipulate the ball and slide past players almost as if they’re not there.

I was really hoping that he’d blow the Premier League away but his body has let him down badly and this season could be his last at the club.

Sources close to Anfield Central are told that while Liverpool are open to keeping him beyond this season, if they receive a bid in the region of £35million, they will sell him.

Clubs in the Premier League will have to pay a premium because the Reds aren’t keen on improving the sides they will be competing with directly. Leicester City are one of seven sides interested in the Guinean but the Foxes haven’t formally registered their desire to sign him, making contact through intermediaries.

MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 06: Thiago Alcantara of Liverpool FC substitutes Naby Keita during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final match between Real Madrid and Liverpool FC at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on April 06, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

If Liverpool don’t receive a substantial offer, they will hold onto Keita and he’ll have to fight for his place in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield but it seems as though the diminutive midfielder is out of favour currently.

He’s fully fit and yet he hasn’t made an appearance since being hauled off against Real Madrid in the Champions League despite being named in the squad against both Leeds and Newcastle.

James Milner has made appearances in both fixtures and it must be concerning to see a 35-year-old making more regular appearances than you.

LEEDS, ENGLAND – APRIL 19: James Milner of Liverpool in action during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road on April 19, 2021 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Something has to give for Keita.

Either he needs to turn a corner with regards to his injury history or he needs to move on to a league that has fewer physical demands on his body.

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