Liverpool flop close to Turkish move after Sunderland talks 'collapse'

Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is reportedly in talks to finalise a move to the Turkish Super Lig.

The 29-year-old has endured a torrid time after leaving Anfield on a free in 2022. He made just five appearances across last season after suffering multiple injury issues as his nightmare spell continued. He was labelled as the ‘biggest disappointment’ of the Bundesliga by his fellow players which further emphasised his fall from grace.

Having been suspended by the club in April for not attending a game after he was told he wouldn’t start, his Bremen career looked to be on borrowed time. Bremen director Clemens Fritz said: “After Naby found out yesterday that he would not be playing from the start, he decided not to get on the bus but to go home. We will talk to him and his agent tomorrow about the consequences and how to proceed.”

His most recent appearances came in the 2024 Olympics as he captained Papa New Guinea across their three group games in Paris. He played in two of the three games, losing to France and New Zealand but he was left out of their final game with the United States of America. Since then, his career has been in limbo and now negotiations have begun over a new move. According to the Guardian’s Ed Aarons, the former Liverpool midfielder is close to agreeing a move to join Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir. ‘Understand that Naby Keita is in talks with Istanbul Basaksehir over a potential move from Werder Bremen. The former Liverpool midfielder also had interest from Sunderland but couldn’t agree terms.’

He managed 129 appearances for Liverpool from 2018 to 2022 under Jurgen Klopp having signed for the club for a fee around £54m from RB Leipzig. Hailed as a potential midfield force at the time, he struggled to displace Jordan Henderson or Georginio Wijnaldum and spent the majority of his Reds career watching from the bench or the treatment room.

If he is to join the Turkish side, he wouldn’t be joining a squad with familiar faces. Previously, they boasted names such as Nacer Chadli, Adnan Januzaj, Bertrand Traore, Robinho, Demba Ba, Martin Skrtel and Gael Clichy in the past four years. They were winners of the league in the 2019/20 season and finished second twice and third once across four seasons, spanning from 2015-2020. Since then, they’ve finished 12th, fifth and fourth twice, including their most recent campaign.