Jurgen Klopp delivers verdict on Liverpool new boys Fabinho, Naby Keita after debuts

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Liverpool wasted little time in getting their important summer transfer business done, with two of their new arrivals making their debut this weekend.

The Merseyside giants secured a 7-0 win over Chester FC on Saturday, with both Naby Keita and Fabinho featuring after sealing their moves to join the Reds last month.

SEE MORE: Liverpool eye €60m transfer swoop to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options

As noted by Sky Sports, Fabinho joined from Monaco at the back end of June, while Keita was unveiled a couple of days prior to that, as per the Liverpool Echo.

The pair will undoubtedly form a key part of the plan to get the club to kick on and continue to make progress in their pursuit of major honours, but Klopp gave an honest assessment of his first thoughts on both men with plenty of room for improvement it seems.

“It’s hard for them. You can see. We always measure the heart rates and if you don’t speak the language then you already have 100 when you only listen to me. So that’s how the first week is. But it’s all good,” he is quoted as saying by ESPN.

“[For] Fabinho today it was not too easy. How I said, it was not a good half and then it’s difficult to find him in the game. Naby felt much better in the second half. That’s how it is.”

The Liverpool boss went on to concede that he expects Fabinho to take a little longer to adjust to his methods and the style of play adopted by his side, which is natural and a fair comment given Monaco’s style differs significantly.

However, the beauty of getting their business done early is that they have given both Keita and Fabinho as much time as possible over the summer and the pre-season schedule to find their feet and get comfortable in their new environment and squad to be ready for the new campaign.

After securing another top-four Premier League finish last season while making a run to the Champions League final, Liverpool will undoubtedly be desperate to make a positive start to the new campaign and with plenty of pre-season fixtures to come still, both Fabinho and Keita will have ample time to continue to improve and make any necessary adjustments.

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