The Mali international impressed in his first year with AS Roma as the team finished second in the Serie A standings, clinching a UEFA Champions League berth and manager Rudi Garcia has requested the directors to sign Keita to a new deal as he ended being one of the best players over the course of the season.
The veteran 35-year-old midfielder signed a one-year deal before the start of the 2014-15 season after a less-than-impressive tenure with Valencia and managed to emerge as a reliable, steady performer for Rudi Garcia.
Garcia was pretty pleased with his performance and he requested the management to extend Seydou Keita's tenure with the team as Serie A side AS Roma will endure the rigours of the UEFA Champions League after being eliminated in the first round of the last season's tournament. Both parties managed to get into an agreement rather quickly and the new contract is expected to be finalized in the coming days.
Keita's new contract will be another one-year deal and even though he's a veteran player that might not have a lot left in him, he could be a viable alternative in case fellow central midfielder, Kevin Strootman isn't able to return to his pre-injury form. His experience could be important for the Giallorossi, as he made just under 200 appearances in four seasons with La Liga giants Barcelona, and at 35, still has some reasonable value. Roma's supporters, however, have been quite pleased with Keita's performances over the course of the season and he's been called as one of the leaders in the midfield area due to his experience and his overall class in the centre of the pitch.
Keita appeared in 29 games over the course of a campaign where he scored three goals and boasted an impressive pass accuracy of 90% (stat courtesy of Squawka) - two in Serie A and one in the UEFA Europa League.