RB Leipzig are set to go for Ole Werner as their next coach, and he’s not a man Jurgen Klopp has always agreed with.
The 37-year-old left Werder Bremen at the end of the 2024/25 season having done an overall impressive job – but he’s far from first choice at Leipzig.
Klopp and Co have had to scramble around to replace Marco Rose after a handful of rejections, and will now settle on a man who’s previously had friction with one of Klopp’s biggest signings.
Naby Keita became Klopp’s most expensive-ever buy in 2018 from Leipzig for £50million, but multiple injuries saw his career become a flop.
He left in 2013 for Werner’s Bremen, but played just a smattering of games before Werner cast him aside never to return.
Keita ended up playing more minutes for Guinea at AFCON in 2024 than for Bremen the whole season, and Werner later explained: “We see others before him.
“Because of the training displays, because of the performance.
“Naby also missed a day of training at the beginning of the week and only worked individually.
“That’s why others were ahead of him. He couldn’t train or only trained individually because he had problems.”
Keita returned to the squad at the end of the season, but was dropped before a match against Bayer Leverkusen when it was widely reported that he refused to travel after finding out he wasn’t starting.
Werner said after the event: “It annoys me and it will have consequences. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but that will follow in the next few days.”
Keita never played for the club again, and was clearly even less rated than he was under Klopp.
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