Naby Keita will continue to be a name that polarises Liverpool households in the coming years well after his impending departure.
Baffling still is the rave reviews the No.8 used to earn from youngsters promoted to train with the first-team, with many blown away by the midfielder’s technical ability.
“Youngsters who were promoted to train with the first-team squad would often rave about Keita’s technical ability to academy staff and team-mates when they returned to their age group,” the reporters wrote for The Athletic.
As has been anonymously documented by staff members within the piece in question, the former RB Leipzig ace certainly didn’t make matters easier for himself with his stunning injury proneness, not to mention a lack of proactivity around learning English.
Liverpool must rediscover durability in all who follow Naby Keita
Few epitomised availability more than ex-Red Gini Wijnaldum from the Jurgen Klopp era, running sharp contrast to our once-record signing in Keita.
A hiccup or two was to be expected, of course, even with a transfer team as remarkable as that which preceded Julian Ward’s uber-brief stint as sporting director.
Still, there’ll be plenty left wondering what if with a player whose talent should have seen him saying his goodbyes to the Anfield faithful several years later than 2023 and with a far more stellar personal reputation.
He has stayed at least a year too long.
Even in the early period he obviously wasn’t the player we had seen on video prior to his transfer – I suspected at one time that he had a twin brother and we got him!!