Naby Keita and a Career at a Crossroads

Article: Naby Keita and a Career at a Crossroads

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By Jonathan Lewis | 15th May 2023

Five years ago Naby Keita’s career was on an upward trajectory. He had made a name for himself playing for two Red Bull franchises in Europe. First, he turned out in Salzburg and then took the step up to Leipzig, playing in the Bundesliga and in European competitions too. He was on the radar of the European elite and eventually moved in the summer of 2018 to Liverpool. Since then his value has tumbled and nobody quite knows what comes next for the Guinean.

Naby Keita and a Career at a Crossroads

One Last Chance

In the last year of his contract in England, Keita’s future is up in the air. With the club fighting for Champions League qualification, he has a chance to put himself firmly in the shop window by helping them to qualify. They currently sit nine points outside qualification places and aren’t fancied by bookmakers. Outright markets for sports betting in Zambia currently have Liverpool priced at odds of 11/2 to qualify, with Brighton priced better at 5/1. In-game betting markets and goalscoring markets are also available to track Keita’s fortunes during the club’s quest to qualify, along with casino and jackpot games. However, if Keita is to help his team, he will need to perform better than ever since joining the club.

What Has Gone Wrong?

Since signing for Liverpool in 2018 for 50 million, Keita has struggled to gain a foothold in the team. Huge fanfare followed his signing, especially since he took Steven Gerrard’s number 8 jersey. However, has failed to live up to his billing. By now manager Jurgen Klopp would have hoped that he could be one of the first names on the team sheet as he approaches what should be his prime.

However, this isn’t the case. A strong lineup ahead of him, coupled with a loss of form at crucial times has cost him. Unfortunately, fans and pundits alike agree with Klopp and feel that the squad has better options. Keita’s time spent on the treatment table dealing with injuries has also been a considerable factor during his Liverpool career.

Injuries and More Injuries

In what will be five seasons spent at Anfield, Keita will have only played around 140 games. To put that into context, he played just over 60 games more for Liverpool than in his two years at RB Leipzig. He has been injured or ill 15 times, missing more than 70 games. This could amount to two full seasons of games for some players. This season has been even worse. Keita has averaged just over 30 minutes of playing time and has been injured with a hamstring and a separate muscle tear. No matter how good a player is, many would struggle with form with bad luck like his.

Former players of Red Bull clubs have been a mixed bag after they arrived in England. Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland has been the stand-out success but very few others. Hwang Hee-Chan has had some good periods with the Wolves, while Takumi Minamino and Timo Werner struggled. For Keita, he will look back at his time with Liverpool as a missed opportunity and will feel the fans never saw his best form. As his contract expires, many clubs will be interested in him and may see him as a risk worth taking, hoping he rediscovers his form pre-2018.

Jonathan Lewis is an MFF sports writer

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