Asante Kotoko star Naby Keita revealed that an ill fated injury in Guinea scuppered a huge move to Ligue 1 side Lorient.
The Guinean revealed that he initially played four friendly games for Lorient and impressed but had to go back to Guinea for a short while.
“I played very well and the club looked interested but surprisingly did not sign me because they said they had wingers Clinton N’jie from Cameroon and France’s Alhasanne Plea,” Keita revealed to Kotoko Express App.
“My manager was amazed by the decision because he saw from how I performed that I deserved to be signed” continues Keita, who goes on to reveal his next move.”
“My manager took me to Lorient. I played in four friendly games for the B team and scored six goals. The team was eager to sign me but that was when my fate began to turn.”
He described how it all played out during his return to Guinea.
“My visa was dying and so Lorient asked me to come back home and have it renewed. But, the major reason why I needed to return was that Horoya also needed me in a Premier League decider against Satellite FC.”
“I obliged and returned to Guinea. Thankfully, we won that game 2-1 and I scored the winner. I got the visa renewed but did not leave for France immediately because Horoya asked me to wait and play in an upcoming FA Cup game.”
“Once again, I heeded,” Keita says as he purses to give a deep sigh. “Horoya arranged for a friendly game against a Division-One club and it was in that game that my Lorient dream ended.”
“I sustained a bad ankle injury that ended me in a theatre in Morocco for a surgery which was sponsored by Horoya. I spent six months in Morocco and in all was condemned to the sidelines for two good years.”
“It is the darkest moment of my career,” stresses Keita. “I got so distraught. It was even worse for my mother who cried every time any of my team-mates or friends had deals abroad.”
“But all is in the past now,” says Keita who joined the Porcupines in October 2019 after a successful trial. “God knows why that happened. And I am glad that I am in Kotoko which is not just known in Africa but the world over.”
Keita has played nine league games for Asante Kotoko this season.