Liverpool: Thirty minutes in the company of Naby Keita is enough to leave you in a spin when contemplating what kind of footballer he is. His childhood idols were Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta and Deco. On the streets of his village in Conakry, Guinea, he imitated Steven Gerrard. He lists winning possession among his best assets, and attributes four red cards in the German league last season to natural aggression.
In his final year at RB Leipzig — Liverpool having completed a 55 million pounds transfer 12 months before his unveiling — he was compared to N’Golo Kante before it was acknowledged his dribbling and guile made him more of a box-to-box midfielder or even, Philippe Coutinho. Except quicker.
It may be the prolonged wait between his signing and arrival or a consequence of the social media hysteria around modern transfers, but few Liverpool players have been eulogised so much before playing a competitive match. Every description implies completeness.
“I am aggressive in a positive sense,” he replies when asked to define his game. “My first mindset is to defend well. As a midfielder, when you have sealed things up at the back, my job is to provide the ammunition for the forwards. Also, if I get a chance, I want to take it and score. But I am a team player. I think about the team always.”
Liverpool’s willingness to wait a year for Keita — despite what was at the time a club-record deal — swelled anticipation.
So did giving him the No. 8, vacant since Gerrard left in 2015, with a ceremonial passing of the shirt from the club legend. “When I came here, I didn’t know Steven would be at Melwood,” he says. “He said, ‘Everyone will be here for you, we’re all going to help you develop’. I had watched Steven as a kid and admired him, so that was a special day. We used to play in the streets wearing a Liverpool shirt. My dad had a love of Liverpool. I wanted to be like him, always the boss of the team.”
With respect to the former Liverpool captain, he was not the favourite in the Keita household. Naby Deco Keita reads the name on his Instagram page, the former Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea playmaker prompting warm childhood memories. “My dad loved Deco as a player. He started calling me Deco as a nickname,” says Keita, whose father, Sekou, calls him to review every performance. “Eight is a number I always liked. It’s also the number my dad wore when he played, so it’s special to me. I am aware that it’s a big number here at Liverpool, and I am very excited to wear it.”
Another Barcelona legend — another No. 8 — was his biggest hero. “My overall favourite player would be Iniesta,” he says. “For his final ball obviously, his skill and his ability. He is not known for his aggression, that is something I have added to my game. As a midfielder you need to have that.”
What about the red cards? “I think I might have been a little bit unfortunate with a couple,” he insists. “They were not for losing my discipline, just a tackle that was judged to be a little bit stronger than it was, but, yes, it is something I need to be aware of.”
Liverpool can thank a former manager for Keita’s progress. Gerard Houllier, then Red Bull Salzburg’s head of global football, spotted Keita playing for FC Istres in France’s second division in 2014. Red Bull secured the switch to sister club RB Leipzig in 2016.
“Gerard spoke to me a lot about my development at Red Bull,” says Keita. “I bumped into him when we played Marseille in the Europa League. He spoke to me about Liverpool. He said, ‘Do everything you possibly can. Establish yourself’.”
Liverpool’s 12-month pursuit was a saga, compromise reached last August. RB Leipzig claimed Barcelona tried to hijack the deal as it was agreed, adding to its aura.
Keita seems an especially contemporary Premier League signing — the thrill of the chase and expensive capture celebrated by fans as much a winning goal. “It has gone absolutely crazy,” says Keita, considering the reaction both in Merseyside and Guinea. “It is something that is going to encourage me to work even harder.”
