Danny Murphy makes Liverpool 'worst signing' claim and…

Danny Murphy makes Liverpool 'worst signing' claim and gives verdict on midfield

Danny Murphy believes Naby Keita has 'probably been the worst' big-name signing during Jurgen Klopp's tenure.

Keita joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in a £52million deal back in 2018, but the 27-year-old has seen his time on Merseyside littered with injuries. The Guinea international has not featured for the Reds since the Community Shield back in May, with a combination of illness and injury keeping him sidelined.

And despite finally returning to some semblance of match-fitness last week - he returned to full first-team training - the midfielder was, through no fault of his own, unavailable for the last two Champions League clashes against Ajax and Napoli due to being left out of the squad for the entirety group stages.

In Keita's absence, Liverpool have endured their worst start to a Premier League campaign since Klopp's 2015 arrival, losing against bottom-three opposition on consecutive occasions and sitting ninth in the table. Midfield personnel have often been called into question after a series of dismal performances, but Murphy believes the injury problems in that area have not been as bad as people are led to believe - a point which led to his remark about Keita.

“Although I think Fabinho is a bit down on his form, with him, Thiago [Alcantara] and [Jordan] Henderson fit and playing every week I don’t think the midfield is as big a problem as people make out,” Murphy told TalkSPORT. “Although you would like more choice. [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain is never fit. [Naby] Keita’s probably been the worst signing out of the big ones, all the others have done well.

“And the two young lads, although super talents, you can’t rely on them week in, week out, it’s not fair. So, an overview would be there’s lots to improve on and it’s not going to happen overnight. The World Cup is going to be a welcome break for Liverpool I think, I really do.”

Keita was left out of the squad to face Leeds United last weekend, with Klopp recently describing the midfieldr's return to fitness as akin to a personal pre-season

"Yes (tomorrow is too soon). We can't rush it anyway," the German told reporters towards before the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. "It was a tough injury, a serious injury. He's now back but only in parts of training. From Monday [October 24] on, Naby and Ibou, if everything goes as planned, will be involved in full team training. That means from there we count days. His football pre-season starts then."

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