Last summer, Liverpool splashed €60 million for a player who was going to join the team one year later. If that wasn’t risky enough, the only evidence of Naby Keita’s ability were a few impressive performances tangled in between a few poor ones. On top of it all, he was recovering from an injury when the deal was signed. The question was whether his upside outweighed the risk. Based on what we saw in the opener against West Ham United, the risk was one well worth the taking.
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Naby Keita vs West Ham
The 23-year-old has been compared to N’Golo Kante for a reason. He was all over the pitch and wasn’t nearly as defensive as people expected him to be. Keita played a key role in Liverpool’s first goal, setting up Andrew Robertson with a timely pass. All the left back had to do was find Salah, which he did, and The Reds were ahead. The Guinean recorded a second assist (a pass before the pass which leads to a goal), something Henderson, Wijnaldum and Milner failed to do in 68 matches combined last season.
“He is a ball winner with great drive and fantastic ability. I have seen him get out of some ridiculous situations in training where he had no right to do it.” – James Milner
Naby Keita’s small stature allowed him to find holes and penetrate gaps, while his vision and passing ability helped him get the ball to his teammates on time. On the defensive end, his lower centre of gravity kept him attached to the ball, making it difficult for opponents to get rid of him.
“This is why Keita is so difficult to play against,”
“At times, he releases passes early. At other times, he will trust himself to beat players in tight areas. You’re just not sure what he is going to do so you’re not sure whether to stand off him or get tight with him.” – Andy Hinchcliffe (Sky Sports)
Jurgen Klopp realized Keita’s potential and gave him the freedom to play up and down, left and right. Therefore, fans who were concerned The Reds would lose creativity with Naby Keita in the lineup can be calm. Between him, Wijnaldum and Henderson, Liverpool have three excellent midfielders to provide assists to the deadly trio up front.
Liverpool – West Ham 4-0
The Merseyside Red beat West Ham United 4-0. Mohamed Salah was back to his old goal-scoring ways, finding the net in the 19th minute. Sadio Mane scored the next two goals, one in stoppage time, the other from an offside position. The fourth one came in the 88th minute from the boot of Daniel Sturridge, who entered the game as a substitute seconds earlier.
The Reds visit Crystal Palace on August 20 (Monday) next.
