Report: Sunderland failed in move for former £50m Liverpool man

Did Sunderland attempt to pull off a summer move for a man who was once Liverpool's record signing? One report claims so.

Naby Keita - failed Sunderland move? / IMAGO / Eibner

Sunderland failed with an audacious bid to sign former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita this summer, according to reports.

The Black Cats were obviously keen to strengthen their midfield during the summer transfer window, and they eventually did that with the signings of Salis Abdul Samed and Milan Aleksic.

However, it has now been claimed that former Liverpool man Keita was also on Kristjaan Speakman’s list, but the deal collapsed over personal terms.

“Understand that Naby Keita is in talks with Istanbul Basaksehir over a potential move from Werder Bremen,” respected Guardian journalist Ed Aarons revealed on X, formerly Twitter. “The former Liverpool midfielder also had interest from Sunderland but couldn’t agree terms.”

Keita was a big money signing for Liverpool back in 2018, joining from RB Leipzig in a bumper £50million deal.

He struggled with injuries, though, restricting him to just 89 Premier League appearances on Merseyside before he was released at the end of his contract.

Understand that Naby Keita is in talks with Istanbul Basaksehir over a potential move from Werder Bremen. The former Liverpool midfielder also had interest from Sunderland but couldn’t agree terms

— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) September 3, 2024

That led to a move to Werder Bremen in the summer of 2023, but he fell out of favour there and only made one Bundesliga start before being suspended by the club for an incident that saw him refuse to board the team bus.

Sunderland, then, maybe dodged a bit of a bullet given his decline and alleged lack of professionalism in Germany, but an interesting one regardless.