Jürgen Klopp seems finally fed up with his pursuit of Guinea midfielder Naby Keita, as the player’s current club RB Leipzig are reluctant to sell him this summer. Though a centre back will still remain a priority for the Reds for the next season, Keita’s pursuit tells that they might yet want to spend on a midfielder this summer.
There are not too many options that resemble the potential of Keita at the moment for Liverpool to scout but there are alternatives that can play a different role in the squad, similar to Keita’s. Here are three such players Liverpool should look at, now that they have shelved their pursuit of the Bundesliga man:
#3 Leon Goretzka (FC Schalke)
The German and Schalke midfielder is currently the first choice for the national side and has been in impeccable form of late. At just 22, he is already making a name for himself at the highest stage and is more than capable of holding the responsibilities of the midfield of a Premier League side. He has recently spoken about wanting new challenges in his career and with Bayern Munich also scouting him, Klopp and Liverpool might be all over him in the coming days.
#2 Jean-Michael Seri (Nice)
The Ivory Coast midfielder has now established himself as one of the most exciting players in Europe in the midfield position and his services for the French side have now taken them into Europe for the next season. At 26, he is an established international and is already wanted by the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. He is far cheaper than Keita and could turn out to be a game changing option for the Reds.
#1 Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid)
Though not an option that will be any easy to pursue, Liverpool should look at Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic as a potential option this summer. Finding game time hard to come by at the Bernabeu, the former Inter Milan man was a target for Liverpool a couple of years ago and if they are ready to spend close to £75m on Keita, they should be able to meet Kovacic’s valuation, to bring him out of the Spanish capital. At just 23, he is a more established option than the Guinean star and Klopp should definitely look at him as an option for his side this summer.
Who do you think Liverpool should sign in place of Keita this summer?