Liverpool fans were made to wait a long time for Naby Keita to arrive. Nearly six years on, and with his summer departure now officially confirmed, some might argue it was a wait that has never really ended.
As the No.8 enters his final days on Merseyside, just how do you begin to assess Keita's complicated Liverpool legacy? Those who champion him say he was the unique, press-resistant playmaker that helped Jurgen Klopp's team win it all between 2019 and 2022, including a sixth European Cup, a 19th league title and a first-ever Club World Cup.
On the other hand, his detractors will argue he was an injury-prone spare part who could never stay fit long enough to become an integral member of that squad who achieved so much. His Anfield exit at the end of the season will ensure that the debate will rage for some time.
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The truth, as it tends to be with most of these things, is somewhere near the middle-ground: the grey area where no opinion must settle, according to social media law.
It was back in early 2017 when Klopp earmarked Keita as a potential game-changer within the framework of the squad he was putting together. As the Reds chased down Champions League qualification for the first time in three years, the Guinea international was viewed as one of the finest young midfielders in Europe due to his eye-catching emergence for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
"Like a cross between N'Golo Kante and Andres Iniesta," was how one German football reporter labelled Keita as the ECHO sought more information on him at the time. Those lofty comparisons have not aged well over time, whatever your opinion.
As the 2016/17 campaign came to a successful conclusion with the return to the promised land of the Champions League, Keita was seen as the all-singing and all-dancing attacking midfielder who could adequately replace the wantaway Philippe Coutinho, who had begun to agitate for a move to Barcelona.
Initially, Leipzig had no interest in losing their star man as they turned down two approaches from Liverpool, the second of which stood at £66m, which would have made Keita the most expensive signing in Anfield history at the time.
"We do not sell players who are still under contract just to make a lot of money," RB Leipzig owner Dietrich Mateschitz said. "To sell him would not only be a proof of distrust for our fans, but also a wrong sign for our other players, such as Timo Werner, who is also in demand."
Despite a clause in Keita's contract that would have made him available for under £50m the following summer, the Bundesliga side had no intention of parting ways as they geared up for their first campaign in the Champions League. Perhaps fearing that Keita could shine in football's biggest club competition and alert others to his natural talent, the Reds made a decisive move.
An unusual deal was eventually struck and announced on a lazy Bank Holiday Monday in late August. Liverpool essentially activated the £48m release clause in Keita's contract but would also pay a premium to secure the deal well ahead of the 2018 campaign. The eventual sum depended on Leipzig's subsequent success for the 2017/18 term, meaning Keita joined Liverpool for around £52m.
The excitement was tangible; the new man took the bold decision to become the first player to wear the No.8 shirt at Anfield since the retirement of Steven Gerrard and a 4-0 thumping of West Ham on the opening weekend saw the then 22-year-old impress.
One stunning Cruyff turn with his back to goal while under pressure from Andros Townsend almost brought about one of the assists of the campaign in another early-season win against Crystal Palace. Receiving the ball from Alisson Becker on the edge of his own area, Keita twisted away from Townsend superbly before flighting a ball over the top for Mohamed Salah. It was an incredible piece of skill that showcased just why Liverpool were so determined to land him the year previous.
It's maybe no shock that Keita's first season was his most active in the Premier League. The African played 25 times in the 2018/19 campaign as Liverpool surged from top-four hopefuls to title challengers, narrowly missing out on a first championship since 1990 by one point to Manchester City's 98. His 33 appearances across all competitions were only bettered in the 2021/22 campaign when he played in 40 of the Reds' 63 fixtures in total.
The longer Keita played in the demanding style favoured by Klopp, though, the more the injuries started to pile up. In total, he made 129 appearances in a five-year period where the Reds have played 228 times. A more accurate reflection of his unavailability is to compare him to fellow 2018 signing Fabinho, whose own total stands at 217.
According to influential website Transfermarkt.com, Keita is estimated to have sat out 83 games in total through injury, with none of those individual issues considered to be 'long-term'. Only two instances, for example, are listed as lasting more than seven matches; an ankle issue in December 2020 and a hamstring problem that plagued him earlier this season.
Perhaps Keita was also a victim of an evolving Liverpool style under Klopp once Coutinho had finally been granted his wish to join Barcelona in January 2018. The Brazilian's £142m departure saw the Reds boss adopt something of a more functional approach in his engine room, which helped them charge all the way to that season's Champions League final in Kiev. Suddenly, the need for a creative-minded attacking midfielder was not as great.
Keita's last appearance of his first campaign came in the Nou Camp as the Reds were beaten 3-0 by Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. He was withdrawn after less than half an hour through injury and played no part in the iconic comeback at Anfield for the return leg or the final itself in Madrid as Tottenham were dispatched 2-0 for a sixth European Cup.
Just 18 appearances in the Premier League would follow for Keita as Liverpool ended a 30-year wait for title No.19 in stunning fashion by collecting 99 points and wrapping up the championship with a record seven games still to play in 19/20. In Europe, he remained on the bench of a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie before missing the second leg entirely as the Reds' grip on the Champions League was loosened in the final football match before a three-month, COVID-enforced break.
The output continued to dwindle further as Keita was limited to just 10 Premier League appearances and 16 in total across the 2020/21 term. The nadir came when he was hauled off just moments before half-time of a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League at the Spaniards' training ground.
"Naby was not responsible for the performance in the first half," said Klopp on post-match Zoom-based press conference. "He was not good in the game, but I could have made a few more changes in that moment. Yes, it was tactical. I did it, and now I’m not happy about it because we talk as if it was Naby’s fault."
Keita would also be taken off once more in Madrid the following season, this time at Atletico in a pulsating 3-2 victory over Diego Simeone's men. After scoring a peach of a volley to make it 2-0 on the night, criticism came for his lack of closing down as Atleti forced their way back into the Group B fixture. He was substituted at half-time for Fabinho with the score level.
Klopp said: "First and foremost, it was nothing to do with Naby – we just had to defend the right side a bit better. We were a bit too wide, but Naby scored a goal and stuff like this and I spoke to him already. It is really important to me that nobody thinks we played the first half – or the second part of the first half – because of Naby. Not at all."
The following week saw Keita star in what was arguably one of his finest performances for the Reds, in a 5-0 hammering of Manchester United at Old Trafford. He set the visitors on their way with an early opener and was in superb form as Klopp's men ran riot in a remarkably one-sided match.
However, a poor challenge from Paul Pogba, shortly after the hour mark, saw Keita leave on a stretcher to bring his evening's work to a dramatic and shuddering halt. That Autumn Sunday in Manchester, in many ways, was his Liverpool career encapsulated: A promising cameo of obvious quality that ended in injury.
As the story of Keita is replayed in the collective mind's eye of supporters, it's perhaps easy to overlook some of the important games he was fit and ready for in his penultimate campaign, though.
Starts in both legs against Benfica saw him help Liverpool to their third Champions League semi-final under Klopp, which came after he was thrust into a starting berth at Wembley for the Carabao Cup final after Thiago Alcantara failed a late fitness test.
He also starred in midfield alongside Fabinho and Thiago as Liverpool went 3-0 up on a scorching hot day at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City 13 months ago. For those that were at the national stadium that sun-baked Easter Saturday, that first 45 minutes will represent one of the high points of Klopp's tenure.
A winning goal at Newcastle in late April also helped keep the heat on City at the top of the table as Klopp chopped and changed to ensure his charges stayed on the path towards a quadruple that no other club has ever come as close to in English football.
The following month saw Keita start once more at Wembley as Liverpool again bested Chelsea on penalties to win their second domestic cup of the campaign. A substitute appearance in Paris was unable to deliver a telling contribution as the Reds lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid 12 months ago.
Sources indicated last summer that talks had been progressing between Keita's representatives and Liverpool over a new deal and there was no real panic from the club's end as negotiations failed to yield a conclusion following discussions in Spain.
But while those negotiations remained ongoing, Keita was unable to show why he was deserving of a new deal on the pitch. As Liverpool's form took a sharp decline, his first appearance of the season came as late as December 22. It would be the first of just 13 across all competitions with only eight of those coming in the league.
His last performance - in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace in March - saw him withdrawn at the half-time interval once more before yet another injury left him sidelined. While he will be included as part of the heroes' ovation that will be reserved for those leaving the club when Aston Villa are entertained in the final home game of the season on Saturday, there will be others from this era that will be celebrated more. His Liverpool career, sadly, is ending with a whimper.
How his time at Anfield is defined, though, will remain the subject of fierce debate.
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