Jamie Carragher has claimed Naby Keita will emerge from the Liverpool fringes to be a mainstay of the team in the long-term.
The Anfield legend and high-profile pundit predicts the summer signing from RB Leipzig could be the solution to breaking down teams and offering greater creativity from midfield.
Carragher expects Jurgen Klopp to utilise the favoured front three in the biggest games and the team to evolve by making greater use of the Guinea international.
“I think if you look at the performance of Keita against Burnley, he is going to make himself a mainstay of this team,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “The midfield that got the team to the final of the Champions League last season were fantastic but they are very similar players.
“Keita is a player who is capable of adding something different to this Liverpool team. Maybe not so much with a pass, although he can do that, but with his running with the ball. He can penetrate in possession and add something different to that midfield.”
OPINION
Axed in midweek, Keita watched on from the sidelines – until replacing Roberto Firmino late on – as Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner got the nod for the biggest match of the season so far. The tried-and-trusted trio vindicated Klopp’s conservative decision by delivering impressive performances, especially Milner and Henderson, as Liverpool secured the win they needed to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. The big conundrum for the Merseysiders is providing a midfield comfort blanket while simultaneously offering the penetration to support the front three and open up well organised opponents. Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum are fine players but even their greatest admirers would recognise they are not goalscorers or creators. Keita, absent from the Premier League starting XI for three months until he was recalled against Burnley last week, was outstanding in the last two domestic encounters and was unfortunate to be axed from the XI against Napoli.