OPINION
Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has enjoyed a tremendous turnaround in his fortunes at the club recently, but there is no doubt that there is still work to be done.
The 24-year-old has been a huge disappointment for much of his debut season with the Reds, but he has impressed so much of late that he has received glowing praise from former Premier League striker Noel Whelan.
“He has a great engine, can get around the pitch, he’s technically sound and can drive forward with the ball, which gives the team something different,” he told Football Insider. “Now he is getting used to what the manager wants from him, you can see how he is perfect for the team’s style of play. In that number eight role, he’s going to be a superstar who scores and creates lots of goals.“
Now look, Keita has been excellent the past three games, but doesn’t it seem like Whelan’s going a bit overboard here? There’s been nothing yet in a red shirt to suggest that Keita’s going to become a ‘superstar’ any time soon.
He’s a good player and he’s done well recently, but that’s all there is to say at this point. He remains a polarising figure at Anfield, and that’s no surprise after the dirge he served up for most of the campaign.
Obviously we can put some of that down to a slow adaptation to English football, but we’ve also got to take his recent improvement with a pinch of salt. He’s not suddenly a ‘superstar’ because he’s had a few good games. Improvement is most definitely still needed from the Guinea international.
He is something a bit different; he’s more creative that Jurgen Klopp’s other central midfielders. He does have a big part to play for the team moving forward, but it’s too early to label him the next Philippe Coutinho or something.
This praise from Whelan probably does the player no good. He’s not the finished article yet, no matter what he’s done in the last three games. Let’s give him the time he needs to improve even further.
