Naby Keita returns to the Bundesliga - to Werder Bremen. The club from the Weser lands a spectacular transfer. The 28-year-old midfielder moves to the Hanseatic city on a free transfer, as the club announced on Friday afternoon. The "Bild" newspaper and the TV broadcaster Sky had previously reported on it.

"It's obvious that there are many interested parties when a player like Naby Keita is on the market on a free transfer," Werder's professional football manager Clemens Fritz was quoted as saying. "That's why we're very happy that Naby chose us despite several offers and that we were able to convince him of Werder," he added. The captain of the Guinea national team "will be a great asset to the team with his qualities".

The German coach Jürgen Klopp had steered Keita from RB Leipzig to Liverpool in 2018 for around 60 million euros. He appeared in 129 competitive games for the British giants, scoring eleven goals and providing seven assists. In 2019 he won the Champions League with the LFC, among other things, and in 2020 he became English champion and club world champion. However, Keita was often injured and never made the leap to becoming a regular.

It will very likely look different in Bremen. "Last year he was still on the pitch in the Champions League final and brings a lot of international experience to the team, which we will benefit from as a team. I'm really looking forward to working with him," said coach Ole Werner and praised the newcomer as "a strong midfielder who plays and runs well and who makes us much more flexible".

The change is also likely to be related to another personality in Bremen. At the beginning of February, the North Germans had strengthened with the squad planner Johannes Jahns, who had previously worked at the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. Keita also played there between 2014 and 2016 before moving to Leipzig. Jahns is said to have been involved in the commitment of the talent at the time.