Naby Keita has endured a horrid few seasons, but there is still an outstanding player in there, according to Bundesliga and Guinea legend Pablo Thiam.
The midfielder was snapped up by Liverpool for a whopping €60 million in 2018 after starring for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Injuries, however, meant that Keita was rarely a regular fixture under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Last summer, the Guinean left on a free transfer and made a surprising move back to Germany, joining Werder Bremen. A giant of German football but not one blessed with particular affluence, Bremen took a risk by signing Keita – and the risk has not paid off.
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Believed to be one of the club’s top earners, Keita’s time in northern Germany has already all but come to an end. His injury struggles have persisted, restricting him to just five appearances, and the player was suspended last month until the end of the season after going AWOL.
After being handed a club-record fine, reports in Germany suggest that Keita’s agent has been informed by Werder that the 29-year-old’s contract will be terminated this summer.
Can Keita revive his career?
It is as yet unknown what the future will hold for Keita, but it is clear that something needs to be done to stop the rut. After all, the midfielder remains an important player for his country.
Keita featured prominently for Guinea at AFCON earlier this year, playing in each of their four matches at the tournament and going the full 90 minutes twice – something he did not manage even once at Werder Bremen.
To ascertain what might be next for Keita, FootballTransfers spoke to former Bayern, Wolfsburg and Guinea midfielder Pablo Thiam. A close friend of national team boss Kaba Diawara, Thiam believes that there is still an eminently talented player in Keita’s broken body but that there needs to be a real inquest into why he seemingly can’t stay fit anymore.
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“It’s difficult to say,” Thiam admitted when asked what the best next step for Keita could be. “Of course, you also have to find out the reasons for all the injuries and clarify them. We saw Naby Keita at Leipzig and sometimes at Liverpool and the outstanding abilities he has.”
“Kaba Diawara, the national coach of Guinea, made it clear: ‘If Naby Keita can run, he always plays.’ Because he simply has a huge impact on the game and his experience alone is always a factor, especially in Guinea, also regarding the young players who benefit from his experience.”
“Unfortunately, his body is less and less able to cope. I would like to see him regain his old strength, especially because I know the player’s soul. No player likes to be injured, no player likes to play below his capabilities because of injuries. That’s something that wears you down.”
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“For that reason alone – not even so that he can show people how good he is, he’s already done that – but for him personally, I’d like to see an end to it so that he can perform the way he wants to again and at some point finish his career and say: ‘Yes, I really had fun at the end and experienced everything I wanted to experience.'”
If Keita can’t manage to get back to his previous levels, the story of his career will be one of unfulfilled promise. “Of course, it’s always very unfortunate and sad, especially when players have such huge potential and can’t realise it,” Thiam concluded.
