Naby Keita has been told he might have made a mistake following Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, and claiming the no. 8 shirt.
Dietmar Hamann, the former LFC defender, has made comments that suggest it wasn’t the “best idea” to try and fill Gerrards shoes… or shirt. He has been the first player to wear the number 8 shirt since 2015, when Gerrard left for American club LA Galaxy.
But because of injuries and other issues he’s been having, choosing to wear the number 8 might not have been the best idea according to Hamann.
This doesn’t take away from any fantastic times Keita has had though, because there have been many. And times where he is as worth even more than Liverpool paid for the Guinean.
“You can’t do anything about the transfer fee. In fact, when a club pays that much for you it should give you a lot of confidence,” Hamann said.
“But, looking back, I don’t think picking that shirt number was the best idea.
“That probably put more pressure on Keita. People maybe didn’t compare him to Steven but that No 8 shirt – similar to the No 7 one – weighs a bit heavier than the other shirts at Liverpool .”
But as mentioned before, Keita isn’t to be written off yet – as fans and even Hamann believe he still has a lot of time to prove how special he is.
“The patience with Keita is still there,” he said.
“Some players make a major breakthrough after three or four years at a club. It does happen. I don’t see Klopp giving up on him any time soon.
“But whether you could get a big fee for him and that money could be better spent elsewhere is maybe something that will need to be considered.
“The question is does Keita really believe he can become a major part of the team? Will the penny drop?
“Personally, I don’t think he will ever be the player at Liverpool that everyone expected him to be when he first signed because of the way the team sets up. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement. It’s down to him.”
Scotty ✅
