Karl-Heinz Riedle has raved about Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita by hailing him as “one of the best players ever” to line up in midfield in the Bundesliga.
The 23-year-old Guinea international returned to the matchday squad for Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat to Red Star Belgrade but was an unused substitute as he was overlooked once again for a starting place by Jurgen Klopp.
Keita has been on the bench for five of the last eight matches for which he has been available but former Liverpool striker Riedle is a big fan of the Anfield summer signing.
“I think he’s one of the best players we ever had in Germany in this position,” Riedle told beIN Sports on Tuesday night. “In the beginning he was brilliant for Liverpool, so I’m looking forward to seeing him back on the pitch again.”
"I think he's one of the best players we ever had in Germany in this position."
Former #Bundesliga & #LFC striker Karl-Heinz Riedle raves about Naby Keïta! #beINUCL pic.twitter.com/LaSWwSc9GL
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 6, 2018
OPINION
Keita did indeed hit the ground running at Liverpool and was outstanding in the first few games of the season. But then his form flatlined and he was omitted from the starting XI for a number of Premier League and Champions League matches when fit, most notably the Premier League matches against Chelsea, Leicester and Southampton, as well as the Champions League clashes versus Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star. Keita had a horrible 19 minutes in the 1-0 defeat to Napoli before breaking down with a back injury that was then followed by a hamstring problem. Following Liverpool’s wretched performance in Belgrade, the summer signing from RB Leipzig has a good chance of a recall for Sunday’s trip to Fulham as the Merseysiders look to immediately get back to winning ways. Certainly, midfield trio James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana are vulnerable to losing their places for the weekend showdown.