Liverpool fans were relieved to hear that Naby Keita was expected to be fit for this weekend’s fixture against Brighton following a spell out injured.
The Guinean midfielder was confirmed by Jurgen Klopp (via James Pearce) to be “okay” after his recent injury and is expected to be in the squad on Saturday for the visit of Brighton. Keita, who joined from RB Leipzig in 2018 after originally agreeing a deal in 2017, has been out injured since coming off against Arsenal in the 5-5 Carabao Cup penalty win in October.
His return comes at an ideal time for Klopp’s Premier League hopefuls, after it was confirmed that key defensive midfielder Fabinho would be out until the new year after suffering ankle ligament damage in the draw against Napoli on Wednesday. Keita has made just seven appearances for Liverpool this season, with the majority coming from the bench, but the 24-year-old could be in line for a more prominent role after Fabinho’s injury.
Should Naby Keita start against Brighton?
Yes
No
Reaction from Liverpool fans to the Keita news can be seen in the tweets below.
He better start
— Jack (@lfcjack07) November 29, 2019
Thats good news Atleast
— Amy (@AmyLFC11) November 29, 2019
This is his shot now, he needs to step up bigtime
— RickyLFC (@Ricky_Gr8Ness) November 29, 2019
Start him
— Keanu (12-1-0) (@Keanu_lfc_16) November 29, 2019
We need Keita to step up big time in December. This could make or break for his Liverpool career
— Nathan Duffy (@NathanDuffy1996) November 29, 2019
really needs to step up now, been so underwhelming
— ???? (@psychedelicnoel) November 29, 2019
Liverpool fans are clearly hoping that Keita can step up in Fabinho’s absence and really start to show why Klopp paid £48 million for the midfielder.
What do we think?
Keita, who is valued at £45 million (Transfermarkt), has been poor since signing from RB Leipzig but Liverpool’s hectic run of fixtures during December could provide him with the perfect opportunity to prove himself in a Liverpool shirt.
It is unlikely that Klopp will throw him straight into the starting line-up but the Guinean could certainly feature against Graham Potter’s side on Saturday.