Shaka Hislop believes signing Naby Keita a year early from Leipzig will turn in to very smart business from Liverpool.
LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp says he has been sent congratulatory messages from Germany after Liverpool confirmed the signing of Naby Keita.
The club have agreed a deal with RB Leipzig to sign Keita next summer after triggering his £48 million release clause, and paying a premium on top.
"I have contact with a lot of people in the German Bundesliga, how you can imagine, and I've never got so many congratulation messages like after it was in [the] public that we signed Naby, because he's the player of the league," Klopp told a news conference on Friday.
"Last year, together with Thiago Alcantara who played outstandingly for Bayern Munich, he [Naby] was the flyer and he's doing that already for two or three years in different leagues. He's still a very young boy. That's really good news.
"OK, we have to wait. But sometimes you have to wait for a really good thing. I have no problem with this. I would have preferred another situation, but it's not a problem. It's cool."
Naby Keita will spend one more season in Germany with RB Leipzig.
Klopp will have summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to call upon for Saturday's trip to Manchester City after a deadline day move from Arsenal in a deal worth up to £40m.
The Liverpool manager feels the versatile England international can be used in up to four different positions within his team.
"He's a very good football player and that helps a lot," Klopp added. "He's very good in small and big spaces, a good dribbler, a good passer.
"There are a lot of things I really like, so that means you want to have him on the pitch as often as possible. He fits really well in the squad and that means in different lineups.
"In the system we play in this moment, it's not fixed for the next seven or eight months, he can play four positions -- both No. 8s and both wings. We play in a specific way and we want to use him in these positions."
Glenn is ESPN FC's Liverpool correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter: @GlennPrice94.
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk