Naby Keita starred in a little-known RP Leipzig team last season as the newly promoted club marched into second place in the Bundesliga ahead of big-spenders like Borussia Dortmund. From a squad full of average players has risen the brilliance of the Kante-esque Keita.
Style of play
At just 22 years of age he dominated the centre of Leipzig’s midfield and quickly went from unknown prodigy to the next world star.
Considering the fact that he played in Guinea until 2013, you could argue that he has been a late bloomer and a lucky one at that, given the rarity of scouts in Guinea. Let’s take a look at why Keita has stood out after a great season.Central-defensive midfield has become the most in-demand position in football.
More clubs are starting to utilise an engine that runs the midfield and can get from box to box effortlessly and especially one that can protect the defence for the full 90 minutes. In the past a holding midfielder would come in the shape of Lucas Leiva, for example, who did a very good job of the basics such as winning back the ball but didn’t have the ability to find the right pass.
Keita’s most dangerous attribute is the knack of finding killer passes from deep areas of the pitch; a 60-yard pass comes effortlessly to the 5’8” man. Despite being more defensively-minded than many midfielders, he managed to contribute eight goals in just over 30 appearances.
More crucially, he provided the pass before the assist more times than any other player in Europe. That is a pretty impressive statistic! Aside from the range of his passing, the Leipzig talisman retrieved the ball more often and won more interceptions than any Bayern Munich player last season. I can see Keita adapting his position in the coming season in a bid to have a greater impact setting up goals and occasionally scoring himself.
The midfield man has an extremely well-timed ability to pick out passes in and around the danger areas of the pitch as well as the capacity to beat a player and accelerate towards the opposition. Another feature of his game is his tactical awareness. Due to being able to use both feet, the youngster is comfortable tracking across either side of the defence and midfield, allowing him to cover more ground at ease unlike other holding players such as Nemanja Matic who loses the ball more often when defending to his unfavoured right.
Who is going to sign him?
Liverpool has been chasing the £80m-rated man since the beginning of the window and has had no success. However I don’t see anywhere else that he is likely to end up as no other Premier League club wants or needs him. That means Liverpool should complete the deal at some point, although PSG could become a fallback option for Keita and his agent if the French club sells Marco Verratti.
Fun Fact
As a kid, Keita really liked going to the supermarket with his mum because, he says, there were a lot of round items to play with.
by Nubaid Haroon YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCtMg-fWm7awR41vM1GhVOkA Twitter: twitter.com/rambofyi
The post Football: Who’s £80 Rated Naby Keita? appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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