While Naby Keita is one of numerous Liverpool players whose contracts expire in the summer, it's been said the Reds would "still very like to keep him" despite his absence this season.
The Guinean just recently made a full recovery from an injury that he sustained following Liverpool's Community Shield triumph over Man City in July.
He participated fully in the midseason tour to Dubai earlier this month, making appearances in friendlies against Lyon and AC Milan. On Thursday, he again came off the bench in the Carabao Cup match against City.
Many would believe that Liverpool will be content to cut their losses and let him leave for free next summer given his dismal injury history.
However, a journalist based in Merseyside claims that's not quite the case.
GOAL's Neil Jones said that Liverpool "would still quite like to keep Keita, but they would also like him to play a few games" despite the fact that Keita is free to deal with clubs abroad as of January 1.
That would imply that Keita has a decent chance of receiving a new contract offer if he stays healthy and contributes between now and the end of the current campaign.It could make sense to keep at least one midfielder on board with James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both entering the last months of their current contracts.
Given that players like Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez are still rumoured to be moving to Anfield, Liverpool is already considering the potential of a change-up in that position during the summer transfer window.
In Argentina earlier this week, there were some speculations that Liverpool was interested in signing Fernandez from Benfica in January before loaning him back to Portugal for the rest of the campaign.
Speaking on Redmen TV, Jones claims that when he recently brought up that prospect to a contact at Liverpool, the man just answered with a laughing weeping emoji.
Liverpool certainly has admiration for Fernandez as a player, but it's uncertain if they have the financial wherewithal to compete with his other suitors and what effect that may have on a possible Bellingham pursuit.
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