Liverpool are thriving right now and Jurgen Klopp deserves all the plaudits for his masterful summer rebuild, replacing the sapped and deteriorating midfield with shiny new signings.
The sweeping changes, successful though they have been, were long overdue, with Liverpool among the foremost outfits in Europe since Klopp's reign got going but a lack of investment and an ageing group of players was always going to threaten the fluency and energy of a system so well regarded for its high-octane, 'heavy metal' approach.
Still, first-placed in the Premier League, into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the Europa League's last 16 (with the Carabao Cup already in the bag), few Reds supporters would grumble over last season's troubles now that a stunning end to Klopp's final season is very much attainable.
And, sadly, the German manager's tenure is approaching the closing stage, with Klopp announcing in January that he will be stepping down from the role he assumed in 2015, turning supporters from doubters to believers and restoring a prestigious outfit in disrepair.
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Klopp's dynasty has been punctuated by so many brilliant acquisitions, securing shrewd signings and shaping them into world-beaters, and while the club have rarely misfired, there have been occasions where it hasn't gone to plan.
At present, Thiago Alcantara's incessant injury issues have left the world-class midfielder's time at the club with more questions than answers, the Spaniard out of contract in June, but none have been worse than Naby Keita, who was among the players to leave last summer.
Why Liverpool signed Naby Keita
It was August 2017, the likes of Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson had been added to an improving Liverpool side under Klopp's leadership but the news that stirred Merseyside into the biggest frenzy was an agreement with RB Leipzig to sign Keita on a club-record deal.
The Guinean midfielder's release clause had been met early to stave off a potential hijack from Barcelona, with the move to be formalised at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Matches played
27
Goals
6
Assists
5
Pass completion
81%
Key passes per game
1.4
Dribbles per game
2.5
Tackles per game
2.4
Interceptions per game
1.3
Successful duels per game
7.6
Keita enjoyed a tremendous season for his German Bundesliga side and actually looked to have done his new outfit a favour when finishing sixth, bringing the transfer sum to just shy of £53m – had Leipzig qualified for the Champions League, that figure would have risen to £59m.
Klopp needed energy and he needed quality to shape and develop his Liverpool project and Keita was deemed the perfect fit, with Reds correspondent James Pearce even remarking that "even at £70m it would be money well spent", such was the star's ability.
Naby Keita's earnings at Liverpool
Across five campaigns at Anfield, Keita only played 129 times for Liverpool, scoring 11 goals and adding seven assists, despite never leaving on loan, averaging out to 26 performances in all competitions per term.
Per appearance
£651k
Per goal
£7.6m
Per assist
£12m
Per booking
£8.4m
It is, frankly, an astronomical failure of a signing, with Keita's exciting natural ability doing little to shake away the sense that injuries spiralled his Anfield career into the depths of the lower echelon of high-profile Premier League acquisitions.
Spoiled by injuries that have ravaged the last vestiges of his brilliant talent, Keita can only go down as a huge "disappointment" – as has been said by former player Dietmar Hamann – never managing to string together a sustained run of form that started to demonstrate that, yes, Liverpool invested wisely.
The fact that he took home a pretty penny during his stay – £120k-per-week in fact – hardly helps his case, given that such trust and resource was placed in the faith that Klopp would manufacture illustrious success with him as the centrepiece. The mere fact that the German manager prevailed despite Keita's woe is a testament to his elite managerial acumen.
It was a salary to put him within the mix of Liverpool's highest earners, and the fact that Ibrahima Konate, tough-tackling defensive titan, still earns just £70k-per-week to this day after following Keita's footsteps and transferring to Liverpool from RB Leipzig for £36m in 2020, just goes to show how highly the diminutive ace was once regarded.
In fact, when combining the transfer fee and Keita's salary, it can be deduced that he cost Liverpool around £83m during his stay, despite making very little progress during his time on English shores.
What Naby Keita is doing now
Virgil van Dijk once hailed Keita for his "world-class" qualities and this isn't even overly effusive praise; the dynamo was unbelievable, robust, energetic, and all-consuming in his midfield game. He just fell victim to the darker side of football, ravaged by injury to the point of no return.
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The decision to allow him to depart on a free transfer at the end of the 2022/23 campaign was one of the least surprising bits of business to come from that season, with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch proving to be huge upgrades, charging the present title ambitions.
For Keita, at least, it marked a fresh start and an opportunity to rebuild his once-promising career, and so he signed for German side Werder Bremen last June.
Regrettably, his season has been marked by setbacks in a typically bleak fashion and he has played just three matches so far. There is genuine concern at this stage that Keita, who is 29 years old, might not be cut for professional football at this level over the coming years.
Liverpool writer Charlotte Coates once described Keita as Klopp's "worst signing", and while this is true and in many regards and a bitter pill to swallow, ultimately the star's misery is built on misfortune, and all wish him well over the years to come.
Still, he bled the club of around £83m and that is a staggering outlay for a player so ineffective during his time at the side.
