The comparison between Naby Keita and N’Golo Kante is very, very lazy.
It’s born more out of the pair both being short, black central midfielders than it is their style of play – which says quite a lot about the football media and many supporters considering one is Guinean and the other French.
But that’s a debate that needs far more attention and research, and not one for today.
Keita is joining Liverpool next summer, after the club agreed a deal with Rb Leipzig to buy him at the end of this season for slightly more than his current £48m release fee.
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Against Borussia Monchengladbach at the weekend, he shone, although he did receive a red-card for a high boot – Sadio Mane style!
What interested us most though was the 22-year-old’s passing. He consistently breaks the lines with zipped balls, something which would have hugely benefited us against Burnley on Saturday.
He’s an offensive player, although he starts from a deep position – able to force play through dribbles or incisive passes. Kante is a destroyer, but Keita’s style is far more reminiscent of Luka Modric: Real Madrid’s world-class midfield controller.
Modric is pint-sized, but uses his tremendous technical ability an quickness of feet and mind to evade challenges – before creating chances in the final third.
Watch Keita in the 2-2 draw below. You’ll see what we mean: