[New post] Naby Keita was handed Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool shirt and hailed as the complete midfielder but injury woes confirmed Jurgen Klopp’s 2018 fears as he looks set to leave for free
Joe Brophy posted: " Liverpool's need for a new midfielder has been the talk of their season but Naby Keita is proof they can't afford to get it wrong again. Keita was once tipped to be the player Jurgen Klopp would build his team around, but five years after his " talkSPORT
Keita has completed 90 minutes only 19 times since joining LiverpoolKlopp hoped Keita would be his Steven Gerrard when he broke the club's transfer record to sign him
The 28-year-old is one half of the only duo among the nine central midfield options at Anfield who are around peak age, alongside Fabinho, and yet a catalogue of injuries and poor form mean Liverpool are willing to cut their losses.
Keita is coming to the end of the long-term deal he signed upon joining the Reds from RB Leipzig in 2018 for £52million.
And any chance of mustering some late season form to warrant a contract extension was surely extinguished against Crystal Palace.
The Guinea international was handed a rare start during the 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park but years of persistent niggles have torn away most of what made him so coveted.
Keita was visibly off the pace and was walking a tight rope after picking up a yellow card just over 20 minutes into the game.
Despite that, he still committed a further two fouls while on a booking and lost 10 duels before he was replaced by Harvey Elliott at the break.
Keita's Palace nightmare won't be his last appearance in a Reds shirt but he's almost certain to return to the fringes for their next game against Wolves on Wednesday night, live on talkSPORT 2.
Keita was on the periphery of the action in his 45 minutes at Selhurst Park
Keita remains Liverpool's most expensive midfield signing ever and fourth overall in their history behind Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
Such was the club's investment in him, only one senior midfielder - Thiago Alcantara in 2020 - has been signed permanently in the five years since his arrival.
Klopp was the driving force behind Liverpool breaking their transfer record to pay a premium on top of Keita's £48m release clause at Leipzig in August 2017 in order to secure his services the following summer.
When Keita did finally arrive in England, the Reds rolled out the red carpet in drafting in icon Steven Gerrard to be part of the unveiling.
Keita said: "If somebody like that gives you his shirt number, it's not to play around with, it is to try and do as much as he did – that's my motivation."
Keita kickstarted Liverpool's romp at Old Trafford last seasonBut the sight of him leaving the pitch with an injury was one fans knew all too well
Curiously, Keita has had the chance to win every major trophy at Liverpool including the elusive Premier League title that Gerrard never could.
And yet there's been precious little individual highlight reel moments from the former Bundesliga star to match Gerrard's extensive list.
Keita started just nine of the 38 Premier League games Liverpool played in their 2019/20 title winning season.
He was originally named on the bench for both Liverpool's domestic cup triumphs at Wembley last season - only starting in the Carabao Cup win after Thiago sustained an injury in warm-up.
Keita also missed the Champions League triumph over Tottenham in 2019 due to an injury of his own and was then on the bench once again for the 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the last European final.
Keita was forced to watch from home as Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 due to injuryKeita has featured in 129 out of a possible 261 games in all competitions
Just weeks into his first pre-season, Sturridge said: "I love that guy. I'm surprised how good he is actually, if I'm honest. I knew he was good but I don't watch German football too often.
"I haven't seen a midfielder like him for a while, he is something different. It's crazy.
"The things he can do with the ball – he can defend, he can pass, he can dribble, he is fast, he is strong. He has got everything."
Fast forward five years and Liverpool fans are still yet to truly see the player they were promised, aside from the occasional moment of brilliance against Huddersfield or Manchester United.
Frustratingly, it could even be argued that Keita's best game in a Reds shirt came on his debut in a 4-0 win over West Ham in August 2018.
Keita has won every trophy at Liverpool but on an individual level his career promised more
Speaking to talkSPORT after that game, Klopp said: "He [Keita] is a fantastic football player. He doesn't know how good he can be. We have no clue about it.
"We have only seen signs of it so far. There's a lot more to come as he's still a young boy.
"Hopefully he will stay injury-free and then the future is pretty nice."
That prediction almost looks like it became a curse with hindsight as both Liverpool and Keita get set to part ways in the summer.
The jewel in the crown of Klopp's first Liverpool revival won't even have the chance to witness how the next one turns out...
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