Keita recently revealed which Premier League clubs that contacted him last summer and which European giants he hopes to play for in the future.
In an interview with German outlet Welt, the highly sought after 22-year-old midfielder revealed that he hoped to be good enough to play for European giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester City some day within the next three years.
Keita also revealed that he had been contacted by numerous Premier League sides last summer: “Arsenal London, FC Southampton, Manchester City and Liverpool, although I did not talk with the coach,” he said before adding that he did speak to Arsene Wenger, before opting for Leipzig.
Naby, who has 3 seasons left on his current contract with Leipzig, further stated: “I hope, however, that I have the level in two, three years and could play for one of the very big clubs. This includes Barcelona, but it also includes Real Madrid or Manchester City.”
He moved to RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga from their sister club RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga before the start of last season. Die Bullen took the Bundesliga by storm, finishing second in what was their maiden season in the German top flight.
The Conakry-born Keita was one of their most important players in a fairytale season. In 31 League games, he scored 8 goals and assisted another 8 and helped them qualify for the UEFA Champions League Group stages in their very first attempt.
His tireless and consistently superb performances didn’t go unnoticed and a number of top clubs were said to be competing for him. Aside of the aforementioned teams, European giants like Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have also been rumoured to be interested.
However, his latest comments may come as a blow to Liverpool. They were said to be leading the race for the midfielder and were even willing to break their club transfer record for him. A few days ago it was reported that Leipzig had slapped a massive €80 million price tag on their star player, likely in order to fend off any interested parties.
While only a few clubs would be able to afford that price tag, it remains to be seen which of them actually agree to pay that amount for a 22-year-old midfielder who doesn’t have any European experience, even if he has the potential to become one of the best players in the world.
