Has there ever been a player coming to the club with any more expectations than this lad? I mean people here are almost expecting him to be our saviour. I know his stats are superb, both in defensive situations and attacking. Stats dont guarantee you anything though. Will people be on his back at once if he doesnt deliver right from the off?
He is not physically imposing, by that I mean he is not an aerial player. We still need aerially dominant players, hopefully a van Dijk in the centre back position and a physical and clever DM (with obvious ball playing qualities as well) to protect the back four and which would give Keita license to do what he does best. To put him next to Hendo or Gini would not be an ideal situation the way I see it. He is not the solution on his own.
He seems to make quite a few fouls too, it happens when you are as agressive and involved as he is. Which is not really a huge problem as we dont seem to make enough of them at critical times, we sort of make them in situations where its just unnecessary (see Moreno vs Sevilla). But we arent exactly great at defending set pieces.
Obviously sorry to try and dampen the mood here. I am really excited about Keita as well. But like everyone he should be given time to adjust and not be drowned in our expectations to immediately lead us to glory (although I would be happy if he did
).
