It’s time for Naby Keita to ditch the nice guy act
The injury to Liverpool star Jordan Henderson has provided Naby Keita with a unique opportunity. It’s time for him to ditch the nice guy act.
Henderson will be out for around three weeks, reported the official club website, and that gives the other midfielders in the squad a rare chance to fight for a prolonged spell in the side.
Jurgen Klopp was never going to leave Hendo out of the team unless he had a bit hanging off him, but that hamstring strain means the gaffer will be forced to leave his favorite son out of the squad entirely.
Naby Keita needs to stand up, bat aside his teammates and friends and ditch the nice guy act in a bid to save his Liverpool career from stagnating.
We know that Klopp likes a settle team and Keita has never been that on Merseyside. His time in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig was excellent because he was omnipotent. Keita hustled and bustled and had his name on lips across the continent.
In England, he’s huffed and puffed and struggled to blow the house down.
We all see this carefully constructed version of Liverpool that has portrays everyone as best mates with one other. They’re careful not to step on toes. Everyone knows their place.
Keita needs to destroy that and claim his place in the preferred XI. When he’s on fire, the midfielder brings a dynamic that no other player can offer – not even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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It would be better for the side if he pushed past Gini Wijnaldum or Oxlade-Chamberlain in the pecking order and established his natural dominance.
Cold eyes. Cold heart. No more Mister Nice Guy is the way forward for this supremely talented player who has never convinced Merseyside of his talents.
And once that happens, we’ll be the better for it.