Jurgen Klopp finally finds role for Liverpool’s forgotten star after ‘scavenger’ criticism

Klopp defends Liverpool transfer policy as top-four rivals spend big

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The departure of Gini Wijnaldum has dominated the discussion around Liverpool in the summer transfer window, with the identity of his potential replacement the subject of much speculation. What many didn’t consider amid the clamour for a big-money signing was that Wijnaldum’s successor was already within Liverpool’s ranks.

Naby Keita has endured a strange and frustrating Reds career. It is now just shy of four years since Liverpool announced what was then a club-record deal to sign the Guinea international from RB Leipzig in August 2017.

The fact that the deal, which was for an initial £48million but came with all sorts of add-on clauses, surpassed their record £35m paid to Newcastle for Andy Carroll in 2011 underlines just how long Keita has been a Liverpool player.

Keita did not join Liverpool until July 2018, but the year delay only served to raise the hype around the central midfielder.

As did his shirt number. Upon his arrival at Anfield, Keita took over Steven Gerrard’s No8, with the club legend presenting him with it.

“If somebody like that gives you his shirt number, it’s not to play around with,” Keita declared. “It is to try and do as much as he did: that’s my motivation.”

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To put it bluntly, that has not happened over the past three years. Keita has been beset by injuries and has made just 77 appearances altogether, scoring seven goals.

Keita arrived with the reputation as a box-to-box midfielder, capable of running all day, cracking open defences and scoring regularly. The No8 shirt certainly conveyed that impression.

There have been glimpses of his ability, but mainly difficulties with staying fit. According to Transfermarkt, Keita has already missed 54 Liverpool matches due to a wide variety of problems.

When he has played, it has often been from the substitutes’ bench, or in between spells on the sidelines when it’s been hard to find rhythm. Or, as his agent Malick Kebe believes, in the wrong position.

“The day that Coach Klopp gets Naby Keita to play in his favorite role, you see what he will bring to Liverpool,” Kebe tweeted in May.

“He is a playmaker, not a scavenger. Good to hear, hi.”

It might not have been the plan, but Wijnaldum’s departure, after five years of consistency in the Reds midfield, has given Keita the chance to settle, finally.

Liverpool have been linked to a whole host of central midfielders this summer, but after spending £36m on Ibrahima Konate, Jurgen Klopp was clear that funds would not be splashed on a Wijnaldum replacement.

Watching the club’s pre-season it seemed that Harvey Elliott was the reason why. The 18-year-old has returned from a hugely successful loan spell with Blackburn Rovers and has been given the backing to continue his development under Klopp’s coaching.

Yet in both of Liverpool’s Premier League games this season it has been Keita who has taken Wijnaldum’s role on the left-hand side of midfield in Klopp’s characteristic 4-3-3 formation.

Keita played alongside James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 3-0 win over Norwich on the opening weekend and was with Jordan Henderson and Elliott against Burnley.

It was Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane who stole the show with the finishing touches on the end of fantastic flowing Liverpool moves in a 2-0 win, but amongst the drama, there was another quietly assured performance from Keita.

With Elliott given the licence to roam and link up with Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right and Henderson sitting at the base of midfield, Keita was the spare man against the Clarets’ 4-4-2, tasked with plugging gaps and distributing the ball effectively. It is a role which suits him well.

Although there was little in the way of playmaking – he didn’t make a single key pass – there were 39 successful passes out of 46 attempted and three successful tackles from the 26-year-old.

Jota headed in Kostas Tsimikas’ cross to make it 1-0 before Mane capped a flowing move with a powerful low finish from Alexander-Arnold’s touch around the corner to make it 2-0 in the second half.

With the game safe, Klopp took off Keita in the 80th minute for Thiago. The 52,591 fans inside Anfield made their appreciation clear with a huge round of applause before Klopp gave his midfielder a customary hug. The smile on Keita’s face told a story.

Liverpool may not have splashed the cash in the transfer window, but the re-emergence of Keita shows why: Klopp already has the players at disposal to challenge for the Premier League title.

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