Steve Nicol has delivered a rather damning verdict on Naby Keita’s time at Liverpool, describing it as ‘an absolute wash’.
The Guinean came to Anfield from RB Leipzig five years ago for £52.75m (talkSPORT), but has seen his time on Merseyside blighted by a succession of injuries.
Indeed, according to Transfermarkt, the 28-year-old has had no fewer than 18 separate spells ruled out due to fitness problems during his time with the Reds.
Keita will be out of contract in the summer and looks set to depart as a free agent, with Nicol far from impressed by what the Guinea international has produced for Liverpool.
When discussing Jurgen Klopp’s midfield options on ESPN FC, the Scot described the number eight’s time at Anfield as ‘an absolute wash’.
There’s no getting away from the horrendous injury record that the midfielder has endured throughout his time at Liverpool, which has prevented him from ever truly establishing himself for the Reds.
However, it’s a harsh assessment from Nicol to describe Keita’s Anfield tenure as a complete washout, with the Guinean occasionally offering signs of what could’ve been had he enjoyed better luck on the fitness front.
He enjoyed an impressive spell in April 2019 when scoring against Southampton, Porto and Huddersfield in quick succession, the latter going down as our fastest-ever Premier League goal, coming just 15 seconds into a 5-0 win at Anfield (BBC Sport).
He also came up with some memorable goals last season, netting in an excellent display in the 5-0 drubbing of Manchester United at Old Trafford and also grabbing the winner against Newcastle nearly 12 months ago during the relentless title chase.
It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see such moments on a more regular basis from Keita at Liverpool, and if he’s to move on in the summer (as seems likely), he leaves with our best wishes.
You can see Nicol’s withering assessment below (from 2:22), from ESPN UK on YouTube: