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Former Liverpool star Naby Keita’s return to the Bundesliga is reportedly not going to plan, with the midfielder lacking the support of the higher powers at Werder Bremen and his teammates. The playmaker was released as a free agent at the end of last season, with injury problems hindering his spell at Anfield.
Keita was among the departees from Merseyside as part of Jurgen Klopp’s major midfield rebuild, with Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also offloaded to raise funds and create space for new arrivals.
The Guinea international made 129 appearances and scored 11 goals in all competitions whilst in Merseyside over the course of five years, with the 28-year-old underwhelming significantly due to his sub-par performances and recurring injury problems preventing him from consistently featuring under Klopp.
Different forms of issues are sparking problems for Keita following his move to Werder Bremen. According to German outlet DeichStube, the midfielder is ‘yet to gain the trust’ of senior officials at the Bundesliga outfit due to his off-field conduct.
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Keita’s behaviour and lack of punctuality has left Bremen feeling frustrated. They wanted to help the ex-RB Leipzig star get his career back on track after a disappointing few years.
Werder Bremen stars are also unhappy with Keita, with it being claimed that the player has been late to several important team meetings and also avoided attending some sponsorship events. Manager Ola Werner is said to be aware of the issues, and there is a growing feeling that this is the reason that his new No. 18 has not featured since early October.
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Keita sustained a muscle injury when making his debut for Werder Bremen against TSG Hoffenheim but has since returned to matchday squads, with the expectation being that he will travel to the African Cup of Nations to link up with his Guinea teammates in January.
Director of Professional Football Clemens Fritz downplayed any issues with Keita earlier this week when revealing that the ex-Reds star could feature against Leipzig in midweek. He explained: “For us in the last few weeks, the absolute priority was to get him fit and bring him to a good level. That was successful. Naby is stable and certainly a candidate for action against Leipzig. But the coach will decide for how long.”
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