Stan Collymore has expressed his disagreement with ex-Liverpool star Didi Hamann’s opinion on Naby Keita.
The German had claimed that the No.8 was ‘simply not good enough for Liverpool’ in the aftermath of the Reds’ 3-2 victory at the Wanda Metropolitano mid-week.
“I have every respect for Didi, a fine midfielder for his national team and for Liverpool, but I completely disagree with him on the analysis of Naby Keita,” the 50-year-old told Empire of the Kop.
“It’s one of those strange transfers where when you know someone’s coming a year before they arrive everyone gets very giddy and builds someone up into being the next Steven Gerrard, or the next Scholes, Lampard, depending on the club.
“Liverpool, of course, did their business very well but had to wait for him. So when he gets to the club there’s a massive over expectation around him as a player.”
The Guinean international had been subjected to some fair critique following the Merseysiders’ latest Champions League victory after playing a role in Antoine Griezmann’s equalising efforts in the first-half.
“He is contributing to the team on the pitch and if he wasn’t one of the most ruthless managers in the world in terms of Jurgen Klopp – don’t be fooled by the smile, he wouldn’t have anyone in the team that he doesn’t feel can do the job – Naby Keita would be out,” Collymore added.
Whilst we agree that the 26-year-old had been partly at fault for the goals conceded in Madrid, we felt that Hamann’s comments were a little harsh given the high standard of performances the player has provided this term.
Prior to being stretchered off the pitch after a nasty challenge from Paul Pogba, the former Bundesliga sensation had played an instrumental role in the opening hour of our 5-0 demolition job of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.
We’re hopeful that the injury to Keita isn’t as severe as it appeared and that we’ll continue to see a lot more of the midfielder for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.