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Liverpool staff explain why Naby Keita’s polarising Anfield move didn’t work out as expected

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop
By Farrell Keeling | Last updated 5/25/23

Naby Keita will forever be a figure in Liverpool history who has both commentators and fans scratching their heads in confusion.

Impressing to such an extent in Germany that supporters were (hyperbolically, with the benefit of hindsight) labelling the Guinean the next Steven Gerrard, it still doesn’t quite make sense why the No.8 didn’t kick on as expected in England.

Anonymous staff members at the club pitched in to explain the why of the matter in interviews with James Pearce and Andy Jones at The Athletic: “His lack of durability was an unwelcome surprise given the fact that he had featured in 58 out of 68 Bundesliga matches during his two seasons at Leipzig. Six of the 10 games he missed were due to suspension.

“Why the dramatic change? Staff point to the challenge of adjusting to greater intensity and physicality than he was used to both in training and matches — something Keita admitted himself he struggled with.

“Liverpool left no stone unturned. Yoga, dietary changes and tweaking his training plan all had some impact on trying to reduce his soft-tissue muscle problems. Andreas Schlumberger, the club’s head of recovery and performance, worked closely with Keita following the former’s arrival from Schalke midway through the 2020-21 season.

“Injury issues kept him sidelined for longer than had initially been anticipated. There was a sense that so many setbacks damaged his confidence to really push himself.”

Naby Keita: The lost Liverpool careery?

With the No.8 struggling to get to grips with the intensity of English football and Jurgen Klopp’s style of football, one can’t help but wonder what kind of player he could have been for us without such barriers in place.

It’s a lot of ifs, buts and maybes, though we can’t help but feel disappointed that such a move didn’t work out for a player so many had extremely high expectations for.

Perhaps, some might be inclined to argue, it was always doomed to fall short of expectations given the man Keita was coming into replace in legendary figure Steven Gerrard – a man many have claimed to be the club’s greatest player of all time.

Whatever happens next, we wish the former RB Leipzig man nothing but the best for his future, and hope he can rediscover the form and confidence that made him a standout star in the German top-flight.

This article first appeared on Empire of the Kop and was syndicated with permission.

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