Former Liverpool midfielder set to leave Werder Bremen after nightmare season

Werder Bremen Head of Football Clemens Fritz has explained why former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita won’t be returning to the club next season. Having departed Liverpool last summer at the end of his contract, the 29-year-old returned to the Bundesliga after five years on Merseyside. He managed 129 appearances across five seasons but his time at the club was characterised as disappointing after facing consistent injury issues.

And those injury woes continued at Bremen. He made just five appearances totalling 107 minutes as a variety of injuries restricted him greatly. As a result, the club have decided to terminate his deal which was set to run until 2026. He will, however, be allowed to continue training at the club as he continues his rehabilitation.

As revealed by Sky Germany, Fritz explained the reasoning behind the decision. “Naby Keïta will not return to the team training of the Bundesliga squad, but will continue to follow an individual training program and seek a new challenge. “It was a very open conversation in which we jointly came to the conclusion that this is the most sensible course of action in the current situation (…) Since his sporting situation has not changed, he would like to seek a new challenge. Together with his advisor, we want to realize this as soon as possible.“

Interestingly, he did partake in the Olympic Games in France as he captained the Guinea National Team. He played 87 and 77 minutes across the first two group game defeats against New Zealand and France and those appearances were his first since March 30, when he played 22 minutes off the bench against Wolfsburg. It’s unclear if he can get his career back on track as his market value has now dropped from £56m to £1.7m since December 2018 when his stock was at an all-time high after signing for Liverpool in a big-money move.