Naby Keita’s shock move to Werder Bremen last week surprised even the Bundesliga outfit themselves, with the club’s sporting director admitting he considered the prospect to be ‘unrealistic’ following the midfielder’s release from Liverpool.
The 28-year-old joined Bremen on a free transfer last Friday after his contract at Anfield was not renewed, ending a five-year stint on Merseyside having joined the Reds from RB Leipzig in a £52.75m deal in the summer of 2018.
Considering Bremen were relegated from the Bundesliga as recently as 2021, before finishing three points above the relegation play-off place this season following their immediate return to the German top-flight, Keita’s signing is both a transfer coup and a surprise. To put their exploits into context, while they were challenging for promotion, the Guinean was competing in Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup finals as Liverpool fought for an unprecedented quadruple.
And while the Bundesliga outfit have pulled off unlikely transfers in the past, Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann has admitted he did not hold out much hope of luring Keita to the club.
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“I also still considered it unrealistic that it would really work out,” Baumann tells Deichstube, translated by BuliNews. “We learned of Naby’s desire to return to the Bundesliga some months back, and kept it (in mind) despite not having the greatest hopes.
“We have always managed to convince players seemingly unrealistic to us to join. I’m thinking most recently of Max Kruse, Davy Klaassen or Serge Gnabry. With Naby Keita, too, it was again great teamwork.”
While Keita would win every major prize with Liverpool, his time with the Reds was ultimately plagued by injury as he was limited to just 129 appearances. In his final season, he would register just 13 appearances, starting only three times in the Premier League, with his last appearance coming in late-February when he was substituted at half-time away at Crystal Palace following a dismal showing.
Suffering an injury in the March international break, the Guinea international failed to return to team training before the end of the season as he was denied a farewell appearance. Yet Bremen aren’t concerned by such injury woes, with Baumann revealing that Keita passed his medical ‘easily’.
“Our medical department was very fastidious,” he said. “They paid close attention to his current condition. He passed (the medical) easily. There is no reason to worry.”
Reports in Germany claim Keita has taken a massive pay-cut to sign for Bremen, with his three-year deal said to be worth in the region of £25,000-£30,000 a week. Baumann has admitted the midfielder received more lucrative offers elsewhere, as he revealed how the Bundesliga outfit convinced the former Liverpool man to make the move.
“We offer such players a good environment,” he said. “That’s where we continue to enjoy a good reputation. On top of that, there’s our style of football. We’ve obviously given him the feeling that he’s needed here and will play an important role.
“Naby had much better offers from a sporting and financial point of view. But, in the end, he wanted to join us because he sees the greatest opportunities here to get back into top form.
“He will certainly be one of the top earners with us, but he won’t blow up our salary structure. We can handle that.”
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