Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is heading out of the club on a free transfer this summer, and it’s fair to say this is a signing that did not live up to expectations at all.
As noted by The Athletic, the Reds invested big money to beat the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich to the signing of Keita a few years ago, but the Guinea international could perhaps have done more to make a success of his time at Anfield.
The report suggests that the feeling inside Liverpool was that Keita could have made more of an effort to learn English, with this often leading to some embarrassing mishaps.
Keita had injury problems during his time at Liverpool as well, but The Athletic claim he would sometimes misunderstand instructions to do with important stages of his rehabilitation.
The report also references a time Keita was spoken to in the player canteen about going on a light jog around the training field, only to reply that he liked eggs.
It seems this language barrier also caused some issues with Jurgen Klopp and his assistant Pep Lijnders, as the 28-year-old didn’t always understand what was being asked of him tactically.
Whilst clearly a talented player, it’s a shame Keita didn’t do more to make the most of his potential at Liverpool.