15 Apr 2017 10:42:33
Right people I was at my parents house yesterday so I took the time to dig up loads of footage on Naby Keita (as i'm not using my internet data! )

I keep hearing he is like Kante but is this literally just because of his appearance and physique?

I couldn't see many comparisons to be honest. Physically they are identical (lack of height, loads of stamina, good power, sublime balance, deceptive pace and surprising strength) and they are both very good at running at pace with the ball. However from what I could find on Keita the comparisons stopped there.

Whilst Kante tends to be more of a ball winner who can link play, Keita seemed to be more of a flair player who constantly looked to get in behind or into the box. It was more like watching a young Steven Gerrard as Keita played little give and go's with the forwards to get behind the back four, or drilled in a shot from distance, or put it in the bottom corner from a ridiculous angle etc. His one touch passing into dangerous areas as well was more like the vision and precision of Gerrard, than Kante.

I have to hold my hands up and admit I have never watched Keita play a full 90 minutes. Is there anyone who has perhaps watched him regularly who could add something for me? I'm just really not seeing the Kante comparison in terms of style. He looks ideal to replace Lallana in our midfield though.

1.) 15 Apr 2017
15 Apr 2017 11:15:28
Haven't watched him myself, MK, but did some reading when we were first linked. The impression I got fits with your observations, but it would also seem that even though he has very good offensive qualities, he has been used in the DM position quite often - perhaps this is the reason people are convinced that he is a defensive midfielder, while he is not. He seems very versatile though, and could fit into several of the roles that Klopp is developing in our midfield - either a deep lying playmaker/ presser (this is the best description of Henderson, I think), or Wijnaldum's multi-purpose role. In fact, I think the Wijnaldum position would best suit his skill-set, but he is indeed an alternative for both Lallana and Hendo.
For this reason I very much hope we will go for him, this will give us a very versatile midfield, with five midfielders worthy to be first-choice rotating, and Grujic offering competition.

2.) 15 Apr 2017
15 Apr 2017 14:47:19
Keita is a fantastic player. Watched him play against Bayer Leverkusen recently (actually wanted to see how Brandt would do) and he was brilliant. Good passing, terrific tackler and gets around the pitch with ease. Him and a fully fit Hendo would dominate most midfields in Europe.

3.) 15 Apr 2017
15 Apr 2017 14:54:45
Tnere is no one like Kante in the whole of Europe so the less people compare him to others, the better. He is a phenomenon that no other player can match.

As for Keita, I have seen him play. Drigan makes a good analysis of his game. He is more forward thinking than Kante and is quality in front of goal both from close range and long range. He can be either a box to box midfielder, a CM like Wij or Can and can also play deep cos he plays deeper with RBL behind the no. 10 Forsberg (a goal and assists machine) .

Can we get him? I doubt it cos he just moved there this season from RB Salzburg and RBL are deep if not deeper than City in terms of cash so don't need to sell and can pay wages than anyone offers their players.

4.) 15 Apr 2017
15 Apr 2017 22:12:12
I did say this earlier in the year MKS. Kieta does not play at the back of a midfield, he is primarily a powerful box to box midfielder who also likes to run late into the box Lampard-esque hence his reasonable goal scoring record. What I will say is that Keita does offer good midfield cover because he's a non stop runner who likes to tackle and track back, is very athletic and will run all day.

Even after his unknown illness he still came back like nothing had happened. Where you impressed with what you saw? I've seen a lot of him this season and i think he'd be phenomenal for us especially if Hendo doesn't recover and LFC are forced into replacing.

5.) 15 Apr 2017
15 Apr 2017 23:26:26
Ageree Poolie however, I doubt we will get him cos RBL won't sell and they don't need to cos they have VERY deep pockets. Also, Ed said we were VERY interested in Obiang from WH b4 his injury to come in and help Hendo out BUT we will see if we are still interested this summer and if he can prove his fitness.

6.) 16 Apr 2017
16 Apr 2017 06:56:53
MK the echo have an article profiling him on the website this morning, worth a read and is similar to what your thoughts are that he is more attacking.