Three things we learned from 2020 – time’s up for Keita

Naby Keita’s reliability has only gone downhill

There has never been doubting over Naby Keita’s ability, and rightly so. When the Guinean is fit, he is almost always firing. However, his inability to stay fit for a sufficient period is what is leading to his career at Liverpool down the drain.

In the whole of 2020, Keita has appeared in only 22 games for the Reds in the Premier League and Champions League. This is out of 42 possible games that the Reds took part in. He hasn’t had one long-term injury which has kept him out. Rather, it always seems to be muscular injuries which keep him out for long enough to lose his place in the side.

With the development of Curtis Jones and addition of maestro Thiago to the squad, Keita will find it increasingly hard to slot himself into the starting XI on a frequent basis.

To put into perspective how frustrating Keita’s struggle with injuries can be, we need not look further than a couple of weeks ago. The central midfielder returned to the starting XI in Liverpool’s 7-0 rout over Crystal Palace just after recovering from a muscular injury.

He was incredible in that game and looked destined to keep his place for the next fixture against West Brom. Yet, another muscular niggle prevented him from doing so. Even Jurgen Klopp seemed tired of Keita’s injuries because deep-down he knows if things don’t get better soon, it will be £50m down the drain.

"In a statement to the club’s official website Klopp said: “He felt a muscle again. I don’t know exactly how long, but he was not ready for today and not for Wednesday, I think. We will see.”"