Naby Keita opens up on his disappointing spell at Liverpool
Coming to the club amidst a lot of hype and expectation, Naby Keita would’ve surely hoped to have a better spell than what he actually had at Liverpool Football Club. However, his five-year spell at the club remained injury-laid forcing Keita to not completely settle into the club.
The Guinea international joined the Reds from RB Leipzig in a £52.75m deal in 2018. While he would win every major honour at Liverpool, injuries ultimately limited his impact. Speaking on his time at the Merseysiders, here is what he told Bild (h/t Sport Witness) via ECHO about Jurgen Klopp and the club:
“He (Klopp) is a very good coach and a really good person. Whenever I was injured, he took care of me.
“He kept telling me, ‘You are strong, never give up!’ That helped me. Even though things didn’t go so well for me in Liverpool because of my injuries, I’m very grateful to him.”
In 129 appearances for the club across all competitions, Keita scored 11 goals and got seven assists to his name as well. Unfortunately, Keita’s time at Liverpool has been marred by recurring injuries that have resulted in him missing a total of 105 games at the club.
Additionally, when Keita has stood fit and available, his performances have lacked the consistency needed at a top club like Liverpool. While he has shown glimpses of his immense talent, those moments remained overshadowed by a lack of impact in key matches and a failure to deliver on a consistent basis.
Naby lad set for Liverpool exit
Keita spoke candidly about the mental and emotional challenges he has faced during his time at Liverpool and how manager Jurgen Klopp helped him throughout.
However, the past is the past, and we can only let go of it with the thought that maybe Keita would’ve been great for the Reds if it weren’t for the recurring injury issues. But he surely possessed the attributes of creativity, vision, and dynamism that could have made him a crucial player for the Reds.
This season alone, he featured in 13 games across all competitions, without any goal output but two yellow cards to his name, and that’s surely not how he’d have envisioned his career at Liverpool to end.
As he joins Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on a free transfer, we hope that the new chapter goes successfully for Keita as he surely has the talent in him to play European football for a while.
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While everyone at Liverpool will miss him dearly, including the medical staff, it is important that we replace Keita with someone who is not so prone to injuries and can deliver on a consistent basis.
