Liverpool transfer target Joaquin Correa is keen to avoid the Naby Keita trap as he issued a plea to Premier League clubs.
It’s been reported that the Lazio forward has already started to learn English has he thinks about the next step in his career – before a move to Liverpool or the Premier League has been announced!
This is in stark contrast to how Naby Keita went about his business following the announcement of his transfer from RB Leipzig to the club, and the struggles the Guinea international went through following his arrival.
Working under a manager like Jurgen Klopp is intense and it’s a lot to take in. The German expects everyone to be working from the same page tactically, and if you aren’t, you’re not getting in the side.
Xherdan Shaqiri found that out the hard way when he was substituted off at half-time against Southampton in 2018 after creating two of the three goals in a 3-0 win. Shaqiri, thought Klopp, wasn’t doing enough in defense and was undermining the shape of the system.
Football at the top is ruthless.
Without the required language skill, any new arrival is going to take even longer to integrate into the side and get up to speed with Klopp’s demands. We’ve seen how it takes time even if you can speak English – just look at how Andy Robertson struggled for minutes during the first half of his debut campaign.
If Joaquin Correa wants to be a Liverpool success as quick as possible, he’ll need to learn and understand the language. The fact that the Lazio man is preparing for a move to the Premier League shows his ambition, but it also shows his intelligence.
"He revealed: “I’d like to play in the Premier League. Right now, I am concentrating on Lazio, but I enjoy the English league too. I would want to improve my English and I will do that.”"
Naby Keita had a whole year to do the same thing, and he already knew his move to England had been sealed, but the midfielder failed to prepare and you could say he’s still paying the price.