Naby Keita vows to help bring Timo Werner to Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita admits he would love to see former teammate Timo Werner join him at Anfield in the summer.

Keita officially moved to Liverpool last summer from RB Leipzig after the two clubs agreed a £52m deal in August 2017, with the Guinea international then playing out the rest of the 2017/18 season with the Bundesliga outfit.

After a bright first couple of Premier League games in the starting XI, the 24-year-old then started to suffer with injury problems and a loss of form, appearing to struggle to gain Jurgen Klopp’s trust and show the levels that convinced Liverpool to buy him.

Now, Keita is beginning to show signs of coming to life at Liverpool, having started each of their last four Premier League games and impressed during their 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at the weekend.

Keita and Werner spent two seasons playing alongside each other in the Bundesliga for Leipzig, striking up a partnership and Liverpool’s no.8 hasn’t made a secret of his desire for a reunion on Merseyside.

'We played very well together in Leipzig, and he was one of my best friends there,' Keita said.

'It's clear: if he'll be on the move, I'll ask Timo to join us here at Liverpool.'

Liverpool are set to be on the move for at least one new striker in the summer, with Daniel Sturridge likely to be on the move when his contract expires at the end of the season, while Divock Origi has also struggled to establish himself in the team.

The Reds also allowed Dominic Solanke to leave the club in January, as the England under-21 international joined Bournemouth for £19m, leaving Roberto Firmino as potentially the club’s only senior recognised centre-forward still at Anfield at the end of the season.

Mohamed Salah has played as a striker on plenty of occasions this season, highlighting Klopp’s lack of trust in the other options he currently has. The Reds also have the highly-rated Rhian Brewster in their ranks and are keen to give him first-team opportunities also.

Werner has been identified as Liverpool’s top target for the summer and with just one year remaining on his contract come the end of this season - which Leipzig are still keen to renew - would also be available for a cut fee.

That said, they won’t have a clear path to the German international, who is also believed to be wanted by Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Premier League rivals Manchester United.

Possessed with great pace, Werner is the profile of forward that Jurgen Klopp loves and would certainly be a good addition at Anfield, adding to the likes of Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane as a fourth goal threat.

Klopp has often switched formation to a 4-2-3-1 throughout the season so far, using Firmino in a slightly deeper role as a number 10 whilst deploying Salah through the middle of the attack.

With Werner, he could leave Salah on the flank and still have enough pace through the middle to stretch defences, something which playing with Sturridge and Origi doesn’t quite offer.

The signing would also increase Liverpool’s depth, which has certainly improved this season but isn’t quite up to scratch with Manchester City’s strength of squad, which may well prove to be a decisive factor in the title race come the end of the season.

Pep Guardiola has the luxury of being able to line up with Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in attack, whilst still having options such as Brazil’s World Cup no.9 Gabriel Jesus and former PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez off the bench.

Liverpool would certainly benefit from having another top quality attacking option in their squad to make them more competitive on all four fronts.