KEITA IS THE FOURTH KOP STAR TO GET COVID VIRUS
NABY KEITA has reportedly become the fourth Liverpool player to test positive for coronavirus.
Reports in Keita’s homeland of Guinea claim the Liverpool midfielder tested positive on international duty along with four team-mates. Liverpool have declined to comment but, if the positive test is confirmed, Keita will have to go into selfisolation and miss Saturday’s Merseyside derby at Goodison.
Jurgen Klopp’s squad has been hard hit by the virus – Thiago Alcantara, Sadio Mane and Xherdan Shaqiri have tested positive in recent weeks.
Alcantara and Mane have completed their periods of selfisolation and will be available for the derby.
Shaqiri is also back, although he is not currently part of Klopp’s first-team plans.
The Kop boss will keep faith with keeper Adrian, despite the seven goals he conceded at
Villa Park last week. First-choice stopper Alisson could be sidelined with a shoulder injury for another five weeks and Klopp has the option of signing a keeper from the EFL before Friday’s final transfer window closes.
But it is understood he is happy with his complement of goalkeepers and has no plans to sign anyone else, even though he has been urged by former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson to sign Stoke’s out-offavour Jack Butland.
The Liverpool boss feels Adrian was not to blame for the dire display at Villa Park when so many players were below par.
He has been pleased with the Spaniard’s performances since signing him on a free 14 months ago and Liverpool won the 11 Premier League games he played before the Villa debacle.
That run includes the 5-2 win over Everton at Anfield in December and an FA Cup victory over the Blues a month later.