Naby Keïta

Naby Laye Keïta (born 10 February 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and captains the Guinea national team.

"Naby" redirects here. For other people named Naby, see Naby (disambiguation).
Naby Keïta
Keïta with Red Bull Salzburg in 2015
Personal information
Full name Naby Laye Keïta
Date of birth (1995-02-10) 10 February 1995
Place of birth Conakry, Guinea
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Werder Bremen
Number 18
Youth career
2004–2012 Horoya U19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Horoya
2013–2014 Istres 23 (4)
2014–2016 Red Bull Salzburg 59 (17)
2016–2018 RB Leipzig 58 (14)
2018–2023 Liverpool 84 (7)
2023– Werder Bremen 3 (0)
International career‡
2012– Guinea 54 (12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:26, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:04, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Keïta began his professional career with Ligue 2 club FC Istres in 2013, and a year later he moved to Red Bull Salzburg, where he won the Austrian Football Bundesliga and Austrian Cup double in both of his seasons. He then moved to RB Leipzig in 2016, making the Bundesliga team of the season in his first year and the UEFA Europa League squad of the season in his second. He agreed to join Liverpool in 2017, and completed the move a year later, winning the UEFA Champions League in his first season at the club, and the FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League the following season.

Keïta made his senior international debut for Guinea in 2012. He has earned over 50 caps and was part of their squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Early life

Naby Laye Keïta was born on 10 February 1995 in Conakry.[2][3][4]

Club career

Istres

Keïta joined hometown club Horoya AC aged nine.[5] He moved to France in 2012, joining the youth team of FC Istres after unsuccessful trials at FC Lorient and Le Mans FC.[5]

In 2013, he was promoted to the first team of Istres. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 22 November 2013 against Nîmes Olympique.[6] He scored 11 goals in 23 games in his first season as a professional, while his team were relegated to the Championnat National.[7]

Red Bull Salzburg
Keïta playing for RB Leipzig in 2016

In 2014, he joined Austrian top division side Red Bull Salzburg.[5] He made his league debut on 26 July 2014 against Wiener Neustadt.[8] 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.[9]

RB Leipzig

In June 2016, Keïta moved to Red Bull Salzburg sister-club RB Leipzig, who had just been promoted to the German Bundesliga.[5][10] He scored the winner on his league debut against Borussia Dortmund[11] and scored seven more goals in his debut Bundesliga season. He was named in the league's team of the season.[12]

Keïta was named in the squad of the season for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, in which his team were quarter-finalists.[13]

2017–18 season

On 28 August 2017, a deal was struck for Keïta to join Liverpool on 1 July 2018 after the English club triggered his £48 million release clause in addition to paying an undisclosed premium.[14][15] It was then reported 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.[16] Leipzig ultimately finished 6th in the Bundesliga, therefore qualifying for the Europa League.

2018–19 season

Upon joining Liverpool, he was handed the number 8 shirt by Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard, which had been vacated upon the departure of Gerrard to LA Galaxy in 2015.[17][18] Keïta made his debut for Liverpool against West Ham United on 12 August 2018 and played a part in the opening goal for Mohamed Salah in a 4–0 win.[19]

On 5 April 2019, Keïta scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 3–1 win against Southampton,[20] and added a first European goal four days later against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.[21] He was injured in May 2019, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[22] Although Keïta was injured, he won his first Liverpool title while out of the matchday squad as his team mates secured the win in the Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur in early June.[23]

2019–20 season
Keïta (front) playing for Liverpool in 2019

Hampered by injury,[24][25] Keïta was a fringe player during the early part of the subsequent season.[26] On 7 December, he provided a goal and assist in a 3–0 win away against AFC Bournemouth, a game which marked his first league start of the season.[27] On 10 December, he provided Liverpool's first goal in a 2–0 Champions League win against his former club, Salzburg, which saw the reigning European champions progress to the knockout stages as the victors of Group E.[28]

On 18 December, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Mexican club Monterrey as Liverpool progressed to the Club World Cup final;[29] three days later, on 21 December, he started in the final against Flamengo, playing 100 minutes until being substituted as Liverpool won 1–0 to be crowned world club champions.[30] On 2 January 2020, he was named in the starting line-up against Sheffield United, but was withdrawn after sustaining a groin injury during the warm-up, being replaced by James Milner.[31] At the end of the season, Keïta won the Premier League title with Liverpool.[32]

2022–23 season

On 17 May 2023, Liverpool announced that Keita would be leaving the club once his contract expired in the summer. Injuries meant he started only 49 Premier League games during his time with the club.[33]

Werder Bremen

On 9 June 2023, Bundesliga club Werder Bremen announced that Keita would join the club as a free agent.[34][35]

International career

On 14 December 2012, Keïta made his international debut for the Guinea national team against Sierra Leone in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualification match. He scored the opener for his side in a 1–1 away draw.[36]

Keïta was included in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.[37] In the opening match against the Ivory Coast, he was struck in the face by Gervinho, who was red carded for it.[38]

On 12 November 2015, Keïta scored his first international goal in three years, in a 1–0 away win against Namibia in the first leg of the second round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.[39] Three days later in the return leg – in Morocco due to the Ebola virus epidemic in Guinea – he scored again in a 2–0 win.[40]

Manager Paul Put chose Keïta for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where he was affected by injuries.[41] In January 2022, Keïta helped Guinea qualify for the round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. His performances saw him earn a place in the tournament's best eleven of the group stage. However, Guinea were eliminated after a loss to Gambia, a match Keïta could not play due to yellow cards accumulation.[42]

Style of play

While writing for The Guardian, Nick Ames and Nick Miller described Keïta as "a dynamic, box-to-box central midfielder," likening him to N'Golo Kanté. They also noted, however, that he is able to distribute the ball with range and accuracy, and score goals, which has instead frequently led him to be compared to Brazilian-Portuguese former playmaker Deco.[43] David Usher of ESPN has described Keïta as an energetic midfielder, with good defensive qualities, which also allows him to play in a holding role if necessary. Usher went on to note that Keïta is "quick, skillful, creative and direct. He can dribble, pass and shoot, and he frequently makes the spectacular look routine". Ralf Rangnick attributes him having a natural 360° radar.[44][45]

Personal life

Keïta has a younger brother, Petit Keïta, who was previously on the books with German side Inter Leipzig. In October 2018, it was reported that he had been training at Liverpool's Academy, although he was not offered a contract.[46]

In 2017, Keïta was charged with uttering false documents. The German newspaper Bild reported that, in early December 2016 and again six weeks later, he had presented two fake Guinean driving licences in order to obtain a driving licence in Germany. The district court in Leipzig (Amtsgericht Leipzig) fined him €415,000, basing the sentence on Keïta's estimated annual income of around €3 million. Keïta's lawyer filed an appeal.[47] The appeals court reduced the fine to €250,000.[48]

In September 2021, Keïta, his Guinean teammates and their opponents from Morocco were stranded during the 2021 Guinean coup d'état. All returned home safely.[49]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Istres 2013–14[1] Ligue 2 23410———244
Red Bull Salzburg 2014–15[1] Austrian Bundesliga 30540—10[lower-alpha 3]1—446
2015–16[1] Austrian Bundesliga 291252—3[lower-alpha 4]0—3714
Total 591792—131008120
RB Leipzig 2016–17[1] Bundesliga 31810———328
2017–18[1] Bundesliga 27621—10[lower-alpha 5]2—399
Total 581431—102007117
Liverpool 2018–19[50] Premier League 25210106[lower-alpha 6]100333
2019–20[51] Premier League 18200204[lower-alpha 6]13[lower-alpha 7]1274
2020–21[52] Premier League 10000104[lower-alpha 6]01[lower-alpha 8]0160
2021–22[53] Premier League 233403010[lower-alpha 6]1—404
2022–23[54] Premier League 803010001[lower-alpha 8]0130
Total 84780802435112911
Werder Bremen 2023–24[1] Bundesliga 3000———30
Career total 22742213804765130852
  1. Includes Coupe de France, Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one in UEFA Europa League
  5. Five appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  7. One appearance in FA Community Shield, two appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
  8. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 17 June 2023[36]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Guinea 201211
201310
201470
2015112
201640
201753
201840
201941
202021
202150
202263
202341
Total5412
As of match played 17 June 2023
Guinea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Keïta goal.[36]
List of international goals scored by Naby Keïta
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
114 December 2012National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone1 Sierra Leone1–01–12014 African Nations Championship qualification[55]
212 November 2015Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia19 Namibia1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification[56]
315 November 2015Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco20 Namibia2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification[57]
410 June 2017Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast26 Ivory Coast3–23–22019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[58]
531 August 2017Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea27 Libya1–03–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification[59]
67 October 2017Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea29 Tunisia1–01–42018 FIFA World Cup qualification[60]
714 November 2019Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali36 Mali1–12–22021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[61]
815 November 2020Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya, N'Djamena, Chad39 Chad1–01–12021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[62]
96 January 2022Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda45 Rwanda2–02–0Friendly[63]
1018 January 2022Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé, Cameroon48 Zimbabwe1–21–22021 Africa Cup of Nations[64]
119 June 2022General Lansana Conté Stadium, Conakry, Guinea50 Malawi1–01–02023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[65]
1227 March 2023Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco52 Ethiopia1–03–22023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[66]

Honours
Keïta after winning the 2015–16 Austrian Cup with Red Bull Salzburg

Red Bull Salzburg

Liverpool

Individual

References
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