Liverpool have a number of players coming to the end of their contracts this summer with Naby Keita set for an Anfield exit and now an update has emerged on a potential replacement.

What's the latest?

According to The Independent's chief football writer Miguel Delaney, Liverpool could reignite their interest in RB Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara this summer.

As per the report, it is claimed that Liverpool have taken an interest in the player before alongside Manchester United and could be tempted to revisit that at the end of the season as Haidara's contract has a release clause.

It said that following a rejected bid from Brighton for the player, the German outfit are not willing to sell in the winter.

Dream Keita upgrade

There is no doubt that Jurgen Klopp and the powerbrokers at Anfield will be working hard to identify the right targets to recruit in their midfield rebuild expected to take place in the summer with Jude Bellingham already touted as the number one priority for the club.

Whilst the Borussia Dortmund wonderkid would be a fantastic piece of business for Liverpool, the club will need to add a few more midfielders to their squad with Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner - as it stands- lined up to leave for free this summer.

As a result, the signing of Haidara could be exactly what Klopp is looking for in a Keita successor as the player was brought into Leipzig to do the exact same thing for the Bundesliga club when the 27-year-old made the move to Merseyside back in 2018.

Haidara was hailed "exceptional" by former Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick, who commented on his potential to fill Keita's boots at the club:

"We've been following his progress in Salzburg as he's developed into an absolutely exceptional player there. There aren't many players his age with so much potential. He has all the requirements to follow in Naby Keita's footsteps."

The 24-year-old sensation - who has a release clause worth £33m - ranks in the top 25% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for non-penalty goals, assists, progressive passes, interceptions and tackles, displaying his potency in progressive play.

In fact, he could be the dream Keita upgrade as Haidara has outperformed his positional peer in a number of midfield attributes this season so far with a better pass completion rate (83.04% v 75.2%), more ball recoveries (42 v 18), duels won (17 v 6), clearances (7 v 1) and interceptions (5 v 1), according to Squawka.

The Mali international has also spoken out on his admiration of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and even compared himself to his role model:

"He was an exemplary player who had it all and battled on the pitch.

"I'm a combative player who works hard in defence and I try to do my best going forward. I've also got a good shot."

With that being said, if Liverpool do reignite their interest in Haidara they would surely be in a great position to compete for his signature in the summer as he clearly possesses midfield traits that Klopp admires and already has a vested interest in the Merseyside giants with his admiration for Gerrard.