Highly-rated Guinea international Naby Keita will official join Liverpool next summer, with the midfielder moving to Anfield in a club record deal.
Video above by BT Sport, geographic restrictions may apply.
If Reds supporters weren’t feeling happy enough after the 4-0 trouncing of Arsenal at the weekend, they were given an extra boost on Monday.
Keita passed a medical in Wilmslow and put pen to paper on a move to Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp getting one of his main summer transfer targets.
It may be slightly frustrating not to see him wreaking havoc in a Reds shirt for another year, but it is an exciting signing nonetheless – ensuring the deal is wrapped up before others attempt to sign him when his release clause kicked in next summer.
The 23-year-old is rated as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe, and he was named as the Bundeliga’s second-best player last season, behind Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
Known for his ability to chip in with goals and assists from the middle of the park, the above video shows exactly what we all have to look forward to in the coming years.
Ted Knutson, former Head of Player Analytics for Brentford and Midtjylland, spoke earlier in the summer about Keita’s qualities as a footballer, and his comments should leave you very excited.
“His skill set is extremely rare, and elite skill sets—especially for all-rounders—tend to command huge transfer fees in football,” Knutson told Goal.
“Given his age, production, and fit for that particular style of play, I could easily see a team setting the Bundesliga transfer record right now.
“If he plays regularly, that could certainly feel like good business a couple of years down the line.
“There are a lot of good midfielders out there, but none who is quite like Keita.
“Naby first showed up as an obviously strong choice in the 2014/15 season where he was probably the best defensive midfielder in Austria.
“A year later, he was the best attacking midfielder, but still had outstanding defensive output, which almost never happens.
“The only real question we had was how he would fit into Champions League-level teams from a passing perspective.
“But I’d say he answered all those questions pretty soundly last season, competing in one of the best leagues in Europe.”
It’s fair to say Keita looks a special talent – we can now monitor him closely throughout the rest of this season, safe in the knowledge that he is a soon-to-be Red.
