In all fairness Keita was never going to live up to our immense expectations, he was hyped up so much for nearly a year before he even arrived at the club that we probably would’ve been somewhat disappointed with him regardless of how well he played. The man himself admitted that the thing he has found most difficult since arriving in Merseyside has been the language and this is nothing new with the Guinean midfielder also having the same issues when he first arrived in France. The good news is that he knuckled down and let his football do the talking and the rest is history; Keita adapted to his new climates and showed the world why his early comparisons to Barcelona legend Deco weren’t wholly unfounded. Keita told the Echo in early November that: “I am following English courses and I am really, really motivated to speak English.” It’s encouraging to see that the midfielder has seen what issues may be holding him back and that he is keen to address them. Whilst the Guinean has made progress in overcoming the language barriers that may be holding him back, it would be fair to say that his biggest obstacle has been his overall fitness and he has been so unlucky with injuries so far this season. Every time he has looked sharp and close to replicating his Leipzig form his recurring muscular injury has surfaced and slowed his progress, but the hope is that now he has had time to gel with his new teammates and get his fitness to the best it can be, he will be ready to show why Liverpool paid a colossal £52m fee for the mercurial roaming midfielder. 
Keita has all the technical attributes to become the best midfielder in the English top flight with his strength on the ball surprising many and that, along with his immense passing range and acceleration, giving him all the tools needed to excel. Jurgen Klopp’s use of the midfielder has left many wondering as to what his actual role is in this Liverpool side with the German seemingly playing Keita in a slightly more withdrawn role – perhaps in order to acclimatise him to English football so that he will be ready to fire on all cylinders once he gets a run in the team. Keita’s tactical versatility is a major strength with the Guinean being able to play in a midfield 2 or as a number 10 behind the striker, a position in which he excelled in during his time at Leipzig. Keita hasn’t been awful for Liverpool, but play has often looked to have passed him by and he hasn’t had the attacking impact many would have hoped he would have. Keita’s number of successful dribbles per league game is this season is 0.8, down from the 2.5 he was averaging last season in Germany, and his number of duels won is down from 7.5 last season to 2.9 this term – it goes without saying that the midfielder is yet to record a single goal or assist so far this season either. In addition to his underwhelming attacking output, Keita’s defensive contribution is also drastically down from last season with him only managing 0.3 interceptions a game for Liverpool, down from 1.3 last season, while his number of tackles won is also down from 2.4 to 0.3 per game. Whilst his stats clearly leave a lot to be desired, he does look like a real game changer when he is on the ball with his close dribbling and quick movement showing that he is eager to transition the ball forward and create chances for his teammates. 
Only Naby Keita can decide how he will be remembered, and he hope he will be remembered as one of our most gifted midfielders. Keita has everything you could wish for: dribbling, shooting, passing, and the ability to resist the press. I have no doubt that Klopp will mould him into an incredible player who will take the league by storm, he just needs to finely tune his game and if he can do that then he will be finessing his opponents in no time at all. Keita has shown during his time in Germany that he can offer a defensive contribution that Kante, seen by many as the best defensive midfielder in the world, whilst also being able to fly past defenders and place the ball in the net with ease. It’s hard to pinpoint Keita’s most natural position with his previously immense defensive and attacking output putting ‘specialist’ players to shame – perhaps it would be fair to say that he is the modern box to box. Article by James McHale @jamesmchale2607 16+ PODCASTS P/MONTH
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