Naby Keïta

Naby Keïta
Keïta with RB Leipzig in 2016
Personal information
Full name Naby Laye Keïta[1]
Date of birth (1995-02-10) 10 February 1995[2]
Place of birth Conakry, Guinea
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 8
Youth career
2004–2012 Horoya
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 FC Istres 23 (4)
2014–2016 Red Bull Salzburg 59 (17)
2016–2018 RB Leipzig 58 (14)
2018– Liverpool 8 (0)
National team‡
2013– Guinea 28 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:41, 7 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 October 2017

Naby Laye Keïta (born 10 February 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Guinea national team.[3]

Club career

Horoya AC

Naby Keïta joined hometown club Horoya AC aged nine.[4]

FC Istres

Keïta moved from Horoya AC to France in 2012, joining the youth team of FC Istres after unsuccessful trials at FC Lorient and Le Mans FC.[4] In 2013, he was promoted to the first team of Istres. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 22 November 2013 against Nîmes Olympique.[5] He scored 11 goals in 23 games in his first season as a professional footballer in Ligue 2. However his efforts were not enough, as his team were relegated to the Championnat National.[6]

Red Bull Salzburg

Keïta with Red Bull Salzburg in 2015

In 2014, he joined Austrian top division side Red Bull Salzburg.[4] He made his league debut on 26 July 2014 against Wiener Neustadt.[7] Keïta ended the season with five goals and two assists in 30 games, winning the league and cup double. The following season, he was selected as the Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Year.

RB Leipzig

In June 2016, Keïta moved to Red Bull Salzburg sister-club RB Leipzig, who had just been promoted to the German Bundesliga.[4][8] He scored the winner on his league debut against Borussia Dortmund[9] and scored seven more goals in his debut Bundesliga season.

Liverpool

On 28 August 2017, it was announced that a deal had been agreed with RB Leipzig for Keita to join Liverpool on 1 July 2018 after Liverpool triggered his £48 million release clause in addition to paying an undisclosed premium.[10][11] It was later revealed that there would be no premium (£48 million total) if Leipzig did not qualify for European football, £4.75 million (£52.75 million total) if they qualified for the Europa League and £11 million (£59 million total) if they finished in the Champions League spots.[12] Leipzig finished 6th in the Bundesliga, qualifying for the Europa League. Keita made his debut for Liverpool against West Ham United on 12 August 2018 and played a part in the opening goal of a 4–0 win.[13]

International career

On 28 July 2013, Keïta made his international debut for the Guinea national team against Mali in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualification match.

Document falsification charges

In autumn 2017, Keïta was charged with document falsification. The German newspaper Bild reported that he received a fine of €415,000. Therefore he should pay 50 daily rates à €8,300 for the fact that he has submitted in early December 2016 and six weeks later two fake driver's licenses from his Guinea home in order to obtain a driving license in Germany. The district court in Leipzig (Amtsgericht Leipzig) based its sentence on Keita's net income of around three million euros per year. Keïta's lawyer has filed an appeal against the penalty order. Thus it will come to a process to the Leipzig district court (Amtsgericht Leipzig), which is not due until 2018.[14]

Style of play

Keita is described as a dynamic, box-to-box central midfielder. He is also able to distribute the ball with range and accuracy, score goals frequently and has been compared to N'Golo Kanté and Deco.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 October 2018[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Istres 2013–14 Ligue 2 23400———234
Total 23400—0000234
FC Red Bull Salzburg 2014–15 A. Bundesliga 30540—10[lower-alpha 1]1—446
2015–16 291252—3[lower-alpha 2]0—3714
Total 591792—131008120
RB Leipzig 2016–17 Bundesliga 31810———328
2017–18 27621—10[lower-alpha 3]2—399
Total 581431—102007117
Liverpool 2018–19 Premier League 8000101[lower-alpha 3]000100
Total 8000101000100
Career total 14835123102430018541
  1. ↑ Four appearances in the Champions League; six appearances and a goal in the Europa League
  2. ↑ Two appearances in the Champions League and one in the Europa League
  3. 1 2 Appearances in the Champions League

International goals

Scores and results list Guinea's goal tally first.[16]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 November 2015Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia Namibia1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.15 November 2015Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco Namibia2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.10 June 2017Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast3–23–22019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.31 August 2017Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Libya1–03–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.7 October 2017Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Tunisia1–01–42018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Naby Keita: 10 things on RB Leipzig's Liverpool-bound Guinea midfielder". Bundesliga. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "N. Keïta: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Liverpool agree deal to sign Naby Keita". Liverpool Football Club. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ten things on RB Leipzig's new African star Naby Keita". Bundesliga. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Istres vs. Nîmes – 22 November 2013". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ligue 2 table".
  7. ↑ "Wiener Neustadt vs. Red Bull Salzburg – 26 July 2014". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Fußball: Naby Keita wechselt von Salzburg zu Leipzig, salzburg.com, 20 June 2016
  9. ↑ "Leipzig get first Bundesliga win with Keïta goal against Borussia Dortmund | Football". The Guardian. Associated Press. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Naby Keita: Liverpool agree club-record deal for Leipzig midfielder for July 2018". BBC News. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Liverpool agree deal to sign Naby Keita". Liverpool FC. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. ↑ "RB Leipzig's Season Finish Could Wind Up Increasing Liverpool's Fee for Naby Keita". Sports Illustrated. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Bate, Adam (13 August 2018). "Naby Keita impressed for Liverpool on his debut against West Ham". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Leipzig-Star soll ein Vermögen an Strafe zahlen". Die Welt. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Nick Ames and Nick Miller (28 December 2016). "Rising football stars: 10 players to watch in 2017 | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "Keita, Naby Leye". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Official Bundesliga Team of the Season for 2016/17". bundesliga.com. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  18. ↑ "UEFA Europa League Squad of the 2017/18 Season". UEFA. 17 May 2018.
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