Liverpool tried very hard to chase down Manchester City but they were simply unfortunate to lose the Premier League title by a single point to Manchester City. The Reds finished in second position and will now shift their focus to the Champions League finals against Real Madrid.
However, evaluating the Premier League season gone by, former legend Jamie Carragher shared his thoughts on midfielder Naby Keita. The former RB Leipzig man has struggled to cement his place at Anfield. Carragher also is not convinced with the midfielder’s performances for Liverpool.
The Guinea international joined the Premier League outfit for £54 million from RB Leipzig after Jurgen Klopp saw a lot of potential in him and wanted to cash in on that early on. Keita joined Liverpool back in 2018 and has made 115 appearances for the club netting only 11 goals and mustering seven assists in the time period.
He was far more prolific during his time at Leipzig as injuries and waning form has haunted him for the last few years. Hence he never managed to show his real potential to the Liverpool fans. Carragher feels that the transfer has made no sense as he remains unconvinced of his impact at Anfield.
“He is the strangest player I’ve ever seen. I will watch him play and not be convinced, then I’ll go on Twitter and someone’s put some stats up. And you think he almost ticks the boxes for all that if you’re crunching the numbers,” Carragher shared.
The former Liverpool defender pointed out how no one can convince him that Keita’s transfer to Liverpool has been a successful one. “I know we do that on the TV and I know that’s how Liverpool look at players, I get all that, but no one can convince me that Keita’s been a success for Liverpool. He’s done well, he’s done ok, but he has one year to go, the club haven’t given him that new contract.”
All in all Keita has struggled with persistent injury problems and that has resulted in his dipping form. But Carragher believes that Klopp’s decision to not play Keita regularly has also led to issues with him settling down in Merseyside. “When everyone is fit it’s a toss-up as to whether or not he’s been in the first XI. Klopp has never consistently picked him. He’s done well, but it’s not what we thought we were getting,” Carragher concluded.
