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Former Tottenham Hotspur right-back Alan Hutton has urged Liverpool to sell two midfielders in the January transfer window. He claims this is the last chance for the Reds to sell Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as their contracts expire soon.
Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have not played regularly since joining Liverpool due to injuries. The duo were signed with a lot of hope, but have never managed to seal their place in the starting XI over the years.
Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton claimed it was time for Liverpool to move on from Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain. He said:
"We are talking about two guys who have not played a lot of football. It is not ideal letting assets go for nothing but if you have got a plan moving forward and targets to bring in then you need to free up space."
He added:
"Some people need to go it is quite as simple as that. They are the boys that Jurgen Klopp sees that he does not need so you have to kind of cut your losses at some point."
Keita joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in 2018 and has played 117 games for the club, registering 11 goals and seven assists.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, joined the Reds from Arsenal in 2017 and has contributed 17 goals and 15 assists in 137 games.
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain not in Liverpool's UCL squad
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were injured at the start of the season and, thus, were not included in the UEFA Champions League squad.
Manager Jurgen Klopp spoke about them coming back from injury ahead of schedule and said:
"They are both not in the Champions League squad because everybody told me they would be out but now they are back, which is good, but not back to play, just to be around and play a few minutes."
Speaking about Keita and his possible return, Klopp added:
"Naby is still in a longer rehab phase. It will be tight. I think Naby will have a full pre-season with us in December and that will be perfect for him. Definitely. Even if he can play before, he has no chance to be fully fit. We have five games, so I wouldn't rule him out now for one or two of them. But in this moment, there's still a gap to fill."
Liverpool face Lyon and AC Milan in friendlies before they take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on December 22.
