Naby Keita never played at his best for Liverpool after moving from RB Leipzig for £59 million in 2018, and the midfielder hasn’t exactly made an impression since joining Werder Bremen in the summer.
Naby Keita, a former midfield player for Liverpool, is under fire from Werder Bremen for declining to go to Bayer Leverkusen after learning he had been left off the squad.
After five years of injury-plagued play at Anfield, 29-year-old Keita moved to Germany in the summer. However, physical problems have continued to afflict the former Premier League winner, who has only made five appearances in his Bremen debut season.
Keita, who has played little this season, was expected to play against the league leaders Xabi Alonso’s team at the BayArena. However, when he found out he wouldn’t be starting, the Guinean international stormed off and went home.
Clemens Fritz, the sporting director of Werder Bremen, verified that Keita declined to board the team bus on Saturday upon his discovery that he was left out of the starting lineup against Leverkusen, who easily defeated them 5-0 and won their first-ever German championship.
Fritz gave the following explanation: “Naby chose to go home rather than board the bus after learning yesterday that he would not be playing from the beginning. Tomorrow, we will discuss the options and potential outcomes with him and his representative.”
Leverkusen, who have yet to lose this season, blasted Bremen while he was away. Bayern Munich has already been soundly defeated by Alonso’s team following a decisive victory highlighted by an incredible hat-trick from Florian Wirtz.
Keita, a former star of RB Leipzig who transferred to Anfield in 2018 for £59 million, has had a string of setbacks, this season being the latest. He made just 95 total appearances for the Reds and was unable to maintain the incredible form that led to his dream transfer.
Keita was a free agent in the summer and Bremen acted swiftly to sign him. But it was said earlier in the season that the master of midfield had not settled in well at his new team.
German publication DeichStube stated in December that because of Keita’s behavior and punctuality, the Bremen authority had “yet to gain the trust” in him. Additionally, it was said that Keita had declined to go to business engagements and had been late for training. After a dismal season, Werder Bremen is presently ranked 12th in the Bundesliga standings.
