Klopp discusses Keita's long-term future at Liverpool

It has been almost four weeks since the Guinean last took to the pitch, and there are question marks over his future at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp refuses to give up on Naby Keita despite his struggles this season, with the manager insisting the player’s long-term future remains at Liverpool.

Recurring fitness issues have restricted Keita to just nine total starts and 714 minutes of action in total all season for Liverpool.

The midfielder was afforded a start in Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg back last month but couldn’t even last the entire first half, having been replaced by Thiago Alcantara three minutes before the break.

In fact, the former RB Leipzig man hasn’t been able to establish himself as a beneficial member of the Reds’ squad ever since his arrival at Anfield in 2018 – but his manager is not giving up on him.

“Naby trains really well in the moment, I have to say. He trains really well, like a lot of other players, and looks really good in training,” said Klopp during his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Manchester United.

“But this year now we need stability. We will make changes from time to time definitely, but it’s not like we pick now seven, eight, nine players to change and say, ‘Maybe we can win it like this.’

“The long-term future of Naby Keita, from my point of view, is here, yes.”