Liverpool fans never saw the best of Naby Keita following his £59million transfer from RB Leipzig back in 2018 – and the midfielder has not exactly impressed since joining Werder Bremen in the summe
Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is in hot water with Werder Bremen for refusing to travel to Bayer Leverkusen after discovering he had been left out of the team.
Keita, 29, returned to Germany in the summer after being plagued by injuries during his five years at Anfield but fitness issues have continued to hamper the former Premier League winner, who has featured just five times in his maiden season at Bremen.
Despite his limited game time this term, Keita was in contention to face Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten league leaders at the BayArena – but the Guinea international instead stormed off and went home after learning he would not be starting the match.
Werder Bremen sporting director Clemens Fritz confirmed that Keita refused to board the team bus on Saturday after learning he was not included in the starting XI against Leverkusen, who romped to an emphatic 5-0 win and their first-ever German title.
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Fritz explained: “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.”
In his absence, Bremen were thrashed by Leverkusen, who are still yet to taste defeat this season. Alonso’s side have now successfully dethroned Bayern Munich after a statement win which was punctuated by a remarkable hat-trick from Florian Wirtz.
Keita’s torrid season is the latest in a series of disappointments for the former RB Leipzig star, who moved to Anfield in a £59million deal in 2018. He managed just 95 appearances in total for the Reds and failed to replicate the stunning form which earned him his dream move.
Bremen moved quickly to snap up Keita’s services after he became a free agent in the summer. However, it was reported earlier in the season that the midfield maestro had not made a positive impression at his new club.
German outlet DeichStube outlined back in December that Keita had ‘yet to gain the trust’ of the Bremen hierarchy due to his behaviour and punctuality. It was also claimed that Keita had shown up late to training and refused to attend commercial events.
Werder Bremen are currently 12th in the Bundesliga table after a disappointing campaign.
