Jurgen Klopp has already confirmed how Liverpool will respond to Naby Keita exit demand

Liverpool could be forced into the transfer market after it emerged ahead of deadline day that Naby Keita wants to leave the club, and Jurgen Klopp has already laid out the Reds’ response

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Naby Keita reportedly wants to quit Liverpool – and Jurgen Klopp has already revealed how the Reds will react.

The 27-year-old midfielder has failed to live up to his £52.75million transfer fee during his four seasons with the Reds, and now sees his future elsewhere. According to Sky Germany, Keita is unhappy with his current situation on Merseyside and recently ended talks with Anfield chiefs over a contract extension.

It’s added that his departure is a possibility, regardless of the recent injuries to fellow midfielders Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones. If Keita does leave in the final 15 days of the summer transfer window, then Klopp hasn’t ruled out dipping into the market in order to bolster his dwindling midfield options.

“If nobody wants to leave, we are done. Or if a bad injury comes in… I don’t hope so. But Liverpool fans can now start focusing on other things,” the Reds boss told Sky Sports ahead of the new Premier League season, which Liverpool have started with two draws.

Pressed on if any players such as Keita could leave before deadline day on September 1, Klopp added: “Have I ever spoken in situations like this about it? You get the results – not the process!”

Then came Thiago’s injury during their 2-2 draw with Fulham on the opening day. The Spanish playmaker, 31, is set to be sidelined for another five weeks due to a serious hamstring problem and Klopp was once again probed on the possibility of signing some midfield reinforcements post-match.

Get involved! Who should Liverpool sign if Keita leaves? Let us know your pick in the comments section.

Keita reportedly wants to quit Liverpool

“We will see,” the German replied. “A transfer must make sense now and in the long-term. We have eight midfielders. We still have enough midfielders. It’s not that we lack midfielders, it’s just some of them are injured. This isn’t a good situation, I don’t like it at all. We have to see how we react on that, but for sure not panic.”

Ahead of Monday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, Klopp was forced to answer further questions about his club’s transfer strategy. Shedding more light on the Reds’ approach, he declared: “I am happy with the strength, size and quality of my squad. We have injuries, that’s how it is. Now it is a question of how long the players will be out for and there [are] different solutions for it.

Klopp could look to the transfer market to replace Keita

“One of them is the transfer market but the transfer market only makes sense if you can bring in the right player. The right player, not a player. If we bring in the right player then it could make sense but we always would have done that from the first day of the transfer window or the first day of pre-season.”

Liverpool are believed to be plotting a swoop for Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham. The 19-year-old England international has been tipped to be the Reds’ next mega-money signing, but Anfield chiefs aren’t expected to make a move until next summer when Bellingham finishes his third season in the Bundesliga.

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