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Football

13th Jan 2018

Liverpool fans are reading an awful lot into Naby Keita’s goal celebration

Was it his last appearance for RB Leipzig?

Darragh Murphy

There have been suggestions that Naby Keita has already played his last game for RB Leipzig.

With an agreement in place to join Liverpool this year, certain reports in Germany claimed that Keita could be announced as a Reds player as early as Sunday.

Liverpool had agreed a £48 million plus deal last August but Leipzig were eager to hang on to the 22-year-old for the duration of the season, unless the Merseyside club parted ways with an extra £13 million sweetener fee in January.

“[Naby Keita] wants to leave us in the summer,” Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick said ahead of Saturday’s game.

“He will play with us until the end of the season. He is starting today. There isn’t more to say.”

But once Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona was confirmed last week, pressure intensified on Liverpool to bring Keita in before the summer, however Jurgen Klopp would not be drawn into commenting on the deal during his press conference on Friday.

“My understanding is there is nothing to say about it,” Klopp said. “When we had this conversation around Coutinho, I said there was nothing to say about it. I will not start doing that now.

“He’s a player of Leipzig, that’s what I know. And in the summer he will be here, that’s what I know. The rest, I have nothing to say.”

Keita got on the scoresheet for Leipzig during their 3-1 victory over Schalke on Saturday afternoon with a fortuitous long-range effort opening the scoring.

Reds supporters watching their future midfielder in action were most intrigued by the Guinea international’s celebration, or lack thereof.

After netting his third goal in the league this season, Keita barely broke a smile and, in the process, prompted Liverpool fans to believe his head was already at Anfield.