2018/19 Season Report Card - Naby Keita

I expected Naby Keita to arrive and hit the Premier League like a tornado, but he barely managed a mild breeze. It was weird. The player I thought we were getting was nothing like the one we saw. Even when he started to play well late in the season, he wasn’t the player I thought we’d signed. 

We’d waited so long for him to get here that the expectations were huge. Based on all those youtube compilations we’d all watched, I expected this whirlwind bundle of energy who would rack up goals, assists and a ton of yellow and red cards. Someone who would be dribbling past five players and splitting a defence one minute, and then two footing someone and getting red carded the next.

He was nothing like that though. Did he even make a tackle all season? I don’t actually mean that as a criticism, as I have no problems with his work off the ball (the nerds will tell you he rates highly in all of those categories). It’s just he wasn’t what I expected. 

I thought he’d be a bit of a hothead who Klopp might have his hands full with. After all, he did hospitalise one of his own team-mates in training when he was at Leipzig.

That’s not who he is at all though. I almost wish it was. I was looking forward to seeing him explode all over the Premier League, but it just didn’t happen. Injuries didn’t help of course. He was in and out of the side all season through one thing or another and it wasn’t until April that he really got going. 

He scored three goals that month and his performances steadily improved with each game. Then, just when he was really starting to look sharp, he got injured early in the game at the Nou Camp and his season was over.

Unlike several other recent new signings, Naby didn’t have to wait long for his opportunity. Guinea not qualifying for the World Cup meant he had a full pre-season with us and he looked dynamite from the word go. His link up with Sturridge was a feature of those early games and did nothing to dampen the lofty expectations we all had of him.

He was in the starting line up on day one of the new season and looked good in a 4-0 win over West Ham. One little slide rule ball inside the right back that allowed Robbo to cross for Salah to tap in was a particular highlight.

Next up was a trip to Palace. We saw the best and worst of him that night. First, picking the ball up under pressure deep in his own half, he produced a brilliant turn and then played a perfectly chipped ball over the top into the path of Salah.

Then, picking the ball up in virtually the same spot, he passed the ball straight to Benteke and Andros Townsend hit the woodwork. He got away with a sloppy one there, but overall it was a good performance and he could easily have scored a couple of goals with sharper finishing.

So far so good. It felt like he was settling in nicely and big things were on the horizon. It just never happened though. He was injured on international duty and then picked up another knock away at Napoli (in a game where he had looked wretched). 

After that he was in and out of the team and was generally ineffective. He was rarely noticeably bad, but he just wasn’t really doing much and seemed to be playing well within himself.

The player that had swaggered his way through two seasons in the Bundesliga looked timid, lacking in confidence and, at times, a bit too meek to cut it in the Premier League.

Klopp’s tinkering with the system probably hurt Keita more than most. He didn’t look comfortable in the 4-2-3-1, especially when he was occasionally asked to play on the left wing.

His form was cause for mild concern but with the team doing so well it wasn’t a major issue. It took some of the pressure off him and eventually he began to settle and show some good form in the spring. He scored in successive games at Southampton and Porto, and added another at home to Huddersfield a couple of weeks later.

He looked great that night and kept his place for the trip to Camp Nou. He was looking sharp in that game too until he did his groin. It was unsatisfactory way to end his first season but at least his arrow was trending upwards, which bodes well for next year.

The stat crew will tell you that Naby's number's are good, and I'm not going to argue with that. He might have had a great looking season on a spreadsheet but the eye test is another matter. We can all see that he didn't set the league alight, and Naby will know it himself.

This season was generally disappointing for him but there seems to be no real cause for future concern. He was starting to look the part and with a season of acclimatisation now under his belt, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be much better next year.

Rating 6/10. 

Had the team not done so well this might have been lower. He failed to live up to expectations but ultimately it didn’t matter because his team-mates picked up the slack, which makes it easier to be generous with the rating.

Best Moment:

The turn and pass against Palace.

Worst Moment:

Not being awarded a penalty at home to Leicester when he was clearly brought down in the box. We drew that game, costing us two points and the league title. It still rankles as it was such a blatant penalty it's hard to believe that the referee missed it. Thanks for that, Martin Atkinson. 

The Future?

The expectations I had of him a year ago are still there, although my perception of the type of player he is have changed considerably. I’m not expecting ‘explosive’ anymore, but I do expect efficiency and excellence. It's not going to be easy getting in the side though as the competition for places in midfield is more intense than anywhere else in the side.