Keita’s driven by his ambition to be No 1
DREAM: RB LEIPZIG STAR WANTS TO GO TO BARCA ONE DAY
But for now he will have to make do with a move to Liverpool.
Liverpool-bound Naby Keita has hit the headlines for allegedly using a forged driving licence in Germany, but he is RB Leipzig’s midfield engine who one day hopes to play for Barcelona.
The 22-year-old box-to-box midfielder was a key component in Leipzig’s stunning first season in the Bundesliga when they briefly kept Bayern Munich off top spot before finishing second in the 2016/17 campaign.
He has had a tough start to this season following the August announcement that he will join Liverpool for 2018/19.
Keita was sent off three times in seven games for club and country including in the German Cup, second round, defeat at home to Bayern Munich last month.
He also fell offside with German police when it emerged at the weekend that he is accused of forgery after twice using a fake Guinea licence in his attempts to obtain a German driving permit.
Keita was born in Conakry on February 10, 1995 and while still a teenager, he left his hometown club of Horoya AC to join FC Istres in 2013 when the club were in France’s second division.
He netted four goals and provided seven assists in 23 appearances during an impressive Ligue 2 campaign which attracted the attention of Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg in 2014.
Keita’s impressive two-year spell in Austria saw him move for 2016/17 to newly-promoted RB Leipzig, despite admiring glances from some of Europe’s top clubs.
Keita made an immediate impact at Leipzig, coming off the bench to score the winner as his debut finished with a shock 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund.
Alongside playmaker Emil Forsberg, who set a new German league record of 17 assists in a season, Keita was outstanding in Leipzig’s midfield as they finished second to Bayern Munich.
He has never been shy about his ambitions.
“I wish for good health, that I am the best African footballer in the world and that I play one day for Barcelona,” he told the RB Salzburg’s club magazine before his move to Germany. –