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Naby Keita
NKeita2021
Personal information
Date of Birth

10 February 1995

Place of Birth

Conakry, Guinea

Height

1.72 m (5'8")

Position

Midfielder

Liverpool statistics
Squad no.

8 (2018-2023)

Years

2018-2023

Appearances

129

Goals

11

Assists

7

Naby Deco Keita (born 10 February 1995) is a Guinean international footballer who played as a midfielder for Liverpool, with the Reds having completed a £52,750,000 deal to sign him from RB Leipzig, making him the second most expensive player in the club’s history at the time. The Guinean’s Liverpool career was plagued by injury, averaging around 17 league appearances a season across his five years at the club. Despite this, Keita did play a crucial role at times, starting in three cup final victories, and leaving the club with seven winners medals.

Liverpool career[]

After an explosive first season with RB Leipzig, reports began to come through of Liverpool interest in Naby Keita, with the Midfielder being regarded as one of the best young midfielders in Europe.

Leipzig’s sporting director, Ralph Ragnick heavily denied these reports, with Liverpool offering upward of £60,000,000 to bring the Guinean to Anfield.

On 28 August 2017, it was announced that a deal had been agreed to bring Keita to Liverpool in the next summer. This deal involved paying Keita’s future release clause of £48,000,000, as well as a bonus fee depending on RB Leipzig’s league performance.

After the departure of Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window, Liverpool attempted to bring the deal forward, but were flat out rejected by Leipzig.

On 27 June 2018, Keita was officially announced as a Liverpool player, signing for a total fee of £52,750,000. The Guinean was personally handed the number 8 shirt by Steven Gerrard. Keita officially signed on 1 July, and made his debut in pre-season a week later, assisting Daniel Sturridge in a 7-0 win over Chester.

On 12 August 2018, Keita made his competitive debut, starting in a 4-0 win over West Ham. Keita put in a very impressive performance, and was heavily involved in Mohamed Salah’s opening goal. Keita kept his place for the majority of games over the following month, before picking up an injury that kept him out for over five weeks.

On 5 April 2019, Keita scored his first Liverpool goal at a vital time, grabbing the equaliser in an eventual 3-1 win away to Southampton to keep the Reds in the title race. Four days later, Keita grabbed a second in quick succession, firing in a deflected strike from the edge of the area to open the scoring in a 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League. On 27 April, Keita opened the scoring just 14 seconds into a 5-0 win over Huddersfield, grabbing Liverpool's quickest ever Premier League goal. Four days later, Keita started away to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. The Guinean was substituted after just 26 minutes however, picking up an injury that ended his season prematurely.

Keita missed most of the next pre-season after suffering an injury on international duty, representing Guinea in the African Cup of Nations. He did however, make his first appearance of the season in the first game, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. After this though, he suffered yet another injury, delaying his start to the season for another month, eventually returning to action at the end of September.

On 7 December 2019, Keita made his first Premier League start of the season, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win away to Bournemouth. Keita grabbed his first goal of the season just before half-time, finishing a one vs one after being put through well by Mohamed Salah. He then returned the favour in the second half, putting Salah in on goal with a fine through ball, allowing him to put the Reds three up.

Three days later, he was given a start in a must-win Champions League game away to Salzburg, his former club. Keita repaid the faith placed in him, giving Liverpool a vital lead in the 57th minute, setting them off on a 2-0 win to send them through to the knockout stage. Just over a week later, Keita made it three goals in as many games, as he set Liverpool on the route to the FIFA Club World Cup Final, opening the scoring in a 2-1 win over Monterrey. Three days later, he started in the final as the Reds beat Flamengo 1-0 to become world champions.

The Guinean continued to put in solid performances throughout the campaign, and appeared in the final league games of the season, including a 5-3 victory over Chelsea, with the midfielder firing the Reds into the lead with a lethal strike. His 18 league appearances throughout the campaign earned him a Premier League winners medal.

The 2020-21 season started off promisingly for Keita, with the midfielder starting in the Reds opening four league games. The fourth however, was a disastrous 7-2 defeat at Aston Villa, with Keita substituted at half-time. Keita managed just three further starts across the entire league campaign, finishing the season with just 16 appearances in all competitions. The most notable of these was on 6 April 2021, starting away to Real Madrid in the Champions League. Keita was substituted before half-time, with the Reds 2-0 down, eventually losing 3-1. This was his final appearance of the campaign.

Despite the poor season, Keita remained in Jurgen Klopp’s plans and featured heavily during pre-season. His performances were rewarded with starts in the opening two league games. On 18 September 2021, Keita fired in his first goal in over a year, with a perfectly placed left-footed volley, rounding off a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

On 19 October 2021, Keita started in midfield away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. He showed his quality, scoring Liverpool’s second in a 3-2 victory, with a ferocious strike from the edge of the area. He was however judged to have been poor defensively for the two goals conceded, and was substituted at half-time.

Five days later, Keita put in one of his most impressive performances in a Liverpool shirt, starting away to Manchester United. Five minutes into the game, Keita gave the Reds the lead with a composed finish, before going on to assist Mohamed Salah’s first strike, with Liverpool running away with a 5-0 victory. The day was slightly spoiled however, with Keita being substituted due to injury after a shocking challenge from Paul Pogba, with the Frenchman being sent off for his actions.

Keita continued to put in impressive performances, and played a vital role in the club’s campaign, with the Reds competing for four honours. On 22 December, he was brought on for the last half-an-hour with Liverpool trailing 3-1 to Leicester City in the EFL Cup quarter-final. The Guinean put in a fine performance, and helped the Reds comeback in the tie, scoring in the penalty shootout victory.

On 28 February 2022, Keita started in the EFL Cup final. He was originally intended to be amongst the substitutes, but an injury to Thiago during the warmup forced him to he brought into the team. The midfielder put in a solid performance, and collected a winners medal as Chelsea were defeated on penalties.

Three months later, history repeated itself, with Keita starting in the FA Cup final, playing the majority of normal-time as the Reds once again beat Chelsea via penalty shootout.

On 28 May 2022, Keita came on as a late substitute in the Champions League final, with Liverpool trailing 1-0 to Real Madrid. He was however, unable to change the result, with his one chance being put high and wide, and the Reds being defeated.

Keita began the 2022-23 season with another winners’ medal, playing the last 20 minutes as Liverpool beat Manchester City to the Community Shield on 31 July 2022.. Injuries however, would make him wait until the end of December to make his second appearance of the campaign. His final appearance for the club came on 25 February 2023, being substituted at half-time in a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

On 17 May 2023, it was confirmed that Keita would leave the club in the summer, upon the expiration of his contract. Keita left the club on 1 July 2023. He made 129 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals and winning seven honours in his five seasons.

Honours[]

Liverpool[]

  • Premier League: 1 (2019-20)
  • UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019)
  • FA Cup: 1 (2022)
  • FIFA Club World Cup: 1 (2019)
  • EFL Cup: 1 (2022)
  • UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2019)
  • Community Shield: 1 (2022)

Stats[]

Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2018-19 25 2 1 0 1 0 6 1 0 0 33 3
2019-20 18 2 0 0 2 0 4 1 3 1 27 4
2020-21 10 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 16 0
2021-22 23 3 4 0 3 0 10 1 0 0 40 4
2022-23 8 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 13 0
Total 84 7 8 0 8 0 24 3 5 1 129 11
Season Apps Goals Assists G+A
2018-19 33 3 1 4
2019-20 27 4 3 7
2020-21 16 0 0 0
2021-22 40 4 3 7
2022-23 13 0 0 0
Total 129 11 7 18

External links[]

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