Some interesting posts on the Keita situation. I have to say I find some of the criticism of him overblown given his performances so far. It's fair to say that he came with a huge reputation, however it was legitimate based on his performances for Leipzig - particularly in his first season. Up until now, he obviously hasn't reached that level - most of his underlying numbers are down a chunk, however it's important to note that whilst he isn't the midfield phenomenon he was at Leipzig as of yet, he's still contributing in useful ways both on and off the ball. His presses per 90 and possession wins from pressing are second only to Fabinho, this is in addition to the solid ball progression numbers he's been putting up.
This is especially important given that at times our midfield struggles to progress the ball which causes the front three to drop deeper in an attempt to do it themselves. There was a bit of that away at Brighton - Salah dropped 10-15 yards deeper in the second half because the ball wasn't getting into the final third - Keita helps with that, however I think Klopp is wary about him because he's such a frenetic and unpredictable player. Wijnaldum and Henderson certainly don't have certain qualities Keita has, however I think Klopp appreciates their discipline and tactical understanding. I think that's why Klopp has used Keita off the left in the 4-2-3-1 - I don't think he trusts Keita to play in a midfield two yet because he's too prone to being drawn out of position which can expose our shape - especially with Robertson and (usually) Trent taking really advanced positions. That being said, given Fabinho's improvement (I think there's an argument that he's our best midfielder), I would really like to see Fabinho and Keita play together in a midfield two at some point soon.
Michael Caley wrote a really good piece on Leipzig and Keita a couple of years back, and there are a couple of really interesting points in there which I think help explain why Naby has found the Premier League more difficult to crack.
https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2016/12/15/13924976/rb-leipzig-bundesliga-title-naby-keitaThe first thing that stands out is the stylistic differences between the leagues:
A typical Bundesliga match will see about 60 open field possession contests (tackle or interception attempts) in the center of the pitch (from one 18-yard box to the other). There are only 35-40 open field possession contests in this area in a typical Premier League game. However, that EPL game sees on average about 60 clearances and 7-8 blocked shots compared to only 45 clearances and 5-6 blocks in the Bundesliga. There is much more defensive engagement in the center of the pitch in Germany, whereas in the Premier League the primary locus of defense is around the penalty area.This style was perfect for Keita's all action pressing and dribbling game. In the Premier League, particularly playing for one of the best teams in the league, the majority of teams are going to sit off, hold their shape and play pretty passively. It's no coincidence that Keita's best performance for Liverpool to date came against Burnley. They definitely drop deep and get bodies behind the ball, but they also do a lot of pressing in an attempt to disrupt the flow of the opposition. In that game, it was like shooting fish in a barrel for Keita. They pressed him time and time again and he skipped past them time and time again. He was creating chances, taking shots, progressing the ball, making tackles and interceptions whilst being pretty much press resistant. In most other games, the opposition are happy to sit off him, it's then you see him struggle a bit more. You can see his response is often to just stand still with the ball at his feet in an attempt to force the press where he can then evade it and move through the gears. To round this off, I'll make a tentative prediction that if Bayern come to Anfield and try come at us, Keita (if he starts) will have a field day.
