Chelsea are considering battling Liverpool over signing Red Bull Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita for an estimated sum of £25 million.
According to a report by The Sun, Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp are both looking to secure good midfielders for their clubs, and have their sights set on RB Leipzig’s Guinean midfielder Naby Keita.
Although Chelsea’s midfield area looks stronger when compared to Liverpool, their biggest issue is finding a good support partner for N’golo Kante. Doing so will also ease Kante’s workload and pressure, allowing him to move and play more freely.
Bolstering the squad seems to be top priority for Conte, as the Blues prepare to play in the Champions League as well next season. Monaco’s midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has also been linked with Chelsea, but Conte is keeping his options open with Keita.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have been facing midfield problems since players like Lucas Leiva, Emre Can, Wijnaldum, etc., are simply not able to get it right in the midfield. They either dominate possession and play defensively, or they try to engage in deep attacking surges, but fail to transition smoothly from one style to the other. Getting another young and fresh talent can change things up for the Reds.
RB Leipzig brought in the 22-year-old Naby Keita from RB Salzburg last year. Keita is likely to cost £25million, after having caught the eye of scouts, and Liverpool was the first club to reach out to the young midfielder.
Keita has played 29 league games for RB Leipzig this season and has scored seven times so far. He is a natural goalscoring box-to-box midfielder and has played for his national team Guinea on an international level.
Chelsea are on top of the table right now with 81 points, while Liverpool are in third place with a total of 70 points.
With both teams clashing head-to-head to sign Keita, the choice for the youngster will indeed be difficult since he can get a lot out of these teams, and it’ll be an incredible opportunity for him to play under the watchful eye of either Conte or Klopp.
However, as reports of Conte looking to move out of Stamford Bridge emerge, looks like the transfer window is going to be one unpredictable ride, just like the current season.