Naby Keita is set to snub contract renewal talks with Liverpool if he is not given a more prominent role in the team.
That’s according to SportBILD journalist Christian Falk, who says talk of a renewal is wide of the mark at this point.
Recent reports suggested Keita was set to sign a new deal with Liverpool and extend his current contract, which expires in 2023.
It’s believed that Liverpool are trying to avoid the mistake they made with Georginio Wijnaldum, who left Anfield on a free transfer to PSG this summer after the Reds allowed his contract to run down.
Thus talks have been opened with Keita to avoid the situation repeating itself, which would be a bitter pill to swallow given the Reds paid so much to sign Keita from RB Leipzig in 2018.
Keita would be the latest in a long line of players to sign new deals this year, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold all extending thus far.
It seems, though, that reports were wide of the mark, with Falk revealing there is one stumbling block in negotiations.
“This is not true; English colleagues were perhaps a bit hasty,” he told BILD.
“It is true that there was an initial discussion with his management; of course, they would like to extend the contract with Keita, but he wants to play for them.
“If he doesn’t join the team soon, there won’t be any further progress in extending his contract.
“He can look at his contract, which runs until 2023 and is in no hurry to extend it, so there has to be some sporting arguments to get him to sign.”
