Ralf Rangnick’s previous comments suggest why Milan want Naby Keita

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Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is being targeted by AC Milan amid reports that the Guinea international could be sold by the Reds this summer. 

MilanLive is reporting that the Rossoneri have the player in their crosshairs this summer with the 25-year-old struggling to find his feet at Anfield. 

It was recently suggested by The Sun that Liverpool could hand Keita one more season but it is clear the midfielder has not been the star Liverpool had hoped for when paying RB Leipzig a reported (Liverpool Echo) £52.75 million.

Of course, a move to Milan could see the player reunite with Ralf Rangnick. The German is set to leave his role at Red Bull, where he has overseen massive development at both Leipzig and Salzburg, to head to the San Siro. 

As reported by Sport Mediaset, Rangnick will become Milan manager in a three-year €15 million deal where he will be given free rein to completely overhaul the club’s playing style, transfer practices, and recruitment policy. 

Rangnick knows Keita well from his time in Austria and Germany and would undoubtedly love to have him at Milan. 

Speaking to the press in 2017, then Leipzig sporting director Rangnick was desperate to keep Keita. As reported by The Guardian, he called Keita an ‘extraordinary player’. Months later, after Keita’s delayed move to Liverpool had been agreed, he told Kicker that the midfielder was one of the best players he has ever worked with. 

“He’s one of the best I’ve worked with in 20 years of professional football.

“I’d also prefer, 10 times, that we’d kept him for another five years – but we are just not able to pay salaries in excess of €10m.”

Of course, Liverpool fans have only seen flashes of that brilliance and the player Klopp was so desperate to bring to Anfield has struggled to live up to his obvious potential in England. 

Most Liverpool fans will undoubtedly hope that they can keep hold of Keita as there is a genuine Premier League star within him somewhere. 

But with his old boss Rangnick set to take over the reins at Milan, it may prove a difficult decision to turn that down.