Like a new signing - £52million dynamo will make Liverpool so exciting to watch

Naby Keita will feel like a new signing if he can avoid injuries this season as he has shown the quality we know he has during pre-season.

The Guinean is my favourite Liverpool player currently at the club.

It's why I defend him so fiercely in my articles but it's also why I'm the first one to lay blame on him.

Things have not gone to plan for him since he joined the Reds for a reported fee worth £52million but he is now in the best physical shape of his Liverpool career.

Granted it's pre-season and the onus is on increasing fitness and match sharpness, the likes of Thiago will know they will need to work to keep Keita out of the starting XI.

When fully fit, the former RB Leipzig star is the ideal midfielder for Jurgen Klopp's system.

Not only is he agile and able to squirm past tackles but he is also so good at counter-pressing.

I wonder if Liverpool's best setup would be to have him as part of a front four with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah the same way the Reds were set up in 2018/19 when they narrowly lost out on winning the league title to Manchester City.

Naby Keita would essentially be a part of the midfield but when counter-pressing, he would join the attack and as part of a front four, would create a blanket that would prevent sides from escape their defensive third.

This season, keeping the Guinean dynamo fit is going to be so important for Liverpool.