Liverpool have had some stellar players during Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Anfield but some of them came with big reputations and failed to live up to the expectations and the price tag.
The Reds won the Premier League and the Champions League with Klopp as their manager and enjoyed an era of tremendous success under the German before he left the club at the end of the season.
While players such as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold became household names under the former Reds boss, some others came in big reputations and massive price tags.
Klopp did spend money during his years at Anfield but his success was based on getting the best out of the players who were not the trendy names.
Some of the trendy names didn’t actually work at Liverpool and Naby Keita was one of the players who came in with much hype but failed to live up to the promise.
Unfortunately, the injuries affected me at Liverpool – Naby Keita
The Merseyside giants paid a then club-record fee of £54m and paid a £6m premium to beat competition from other clubs for his signature from RB Leipzig.
Keita arrived with a burgeoning reputation and Liverpool gave him the famous number 8 shirt worn by club legend Steven Gerrard.
However, his Anfield career never took off due to injuries and he made just 49 league starts during his five-year stay at the club.
He left Liverpool as a Premier League and Champions League winner but he would remain a case of what could have been for many Reds fans.
Keita admitted that his time at Liverpool was mentally tough because of the injuries, which prevented him from being at his best.
He stressed that he did everything he could have done to help the team during his time at Anfield but conceded that the injuries kept restricting him.
“It was tough mentally, of course”, Keita told the Guardian.
“I was the first to get frustrated. I wanted to play every game but unfortunately, I had a lot of injuries that prevented me from giving more than I did.
“But that’s the life of a footballer.
“I did everything I could to be there for the team at all times, but unfortunately injuries are part of our job.”
Keita left Liverpool to join Werder Bremen on a free transfer last year.
