In January, Jurgen Klopp revealed that he would be stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, ending a glittering tenure at Anfield that has restored the club from a shadowed period.
In fairness, few supporters would contest that he reserves the right to dictate his future after such superlative work, and having rebuilt successfully with sweeping changes to the engine room last summer, the Merseyside outfit is in a fine place to start a new chapter with full focus on adding to the trophy cabinet and sustaining their position at the forefront of the Premier League.
Indeed, with the 2023/24 campaign now approaching the business end, Liverpool are at the summit of the top-flight, preparing for this weekend's Carabao Cup final against Chelsea and into the fifth round of the FA Cup and the Europa League's last 16.
It was indeed the centre of the park that was the crux of Liverpool's issues last term, with Klopp's self-branded heavy metal style of play no longer practicable, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho James Milner and co seemingly past their sell-by date.
Such stars, so important throughout the German manager's silver-laden era, were shipped on, and while this was the right decision for each, they did still play a part at the club.
The same, regrettably, cannot be said for Naby Keita, who also departed last June upon the expiry of his contract in what can only go down as a colossal failure of a signing once brimming with excitement and anticipation.
Liverpool's signing of Naby Keita
Back in August 2017, news broke that Liverpool had agreed a club-record deal with RB Leipzig to sign talented centre-midfielder Keita, with the transfer to be formalised after the 2017/18 campaign.
The Guinea international had a £48m release clause but Liverpool were willing to pay a premium to secure his services, winning the race despite a vested interest expressed by Barcelona.
It was a deal to send a frisson of excitement coursing through Merseyside, with former Reds manager even remarking that he saw comparisons between the dynamic star and iconic Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
His ubiquity in the midfield did bespeak an all-encompassing nature that drew such comparisons, having clinched 37 goals and 26 assists from 152 fixtures in Germany with Leipzig.
But, alas, he was branded a massive "disappointment" by former player Dietmar Hamann – words surely echoed by the Liverpool fanbase – after year upon year of injury problems and consequent poor form.
Naby Keita's Liverpool career
In total, Keita chalked up 129 appearances for Liverpool and posted 11 goals and seven assists, and while there were inevitable flashes of quality throughout his time in England, he came unstuck and never produced the full scope of his natural skill set.
Season
Apps
Starts
Goals
Assists
22/23
8
3
0
0
21/22
23
14
3
1
20/21
10
7
0
0
19/20
18
9
2
3
18/19
25
16
2
1
Never featuring from the outset more than 16 times in any one Premier League campaign, the 29-year-old quickly fell by the wayside and never regained his footing, winning much silverware at Anfield but offering contributions of inconsequential value.
Given that he earned a pretty penny at the club – £120k per week – it's hardly as if he didn't deplete FSG in all their frugality of their resources either.
His nightmare journey was indeed ended last summer and he closed the door on his Liverpool career and penned a deal with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, snapped up for free but suffering a similar fare overseas.
Naby Keita's season in numbers
Returning to Germany, Keita at least left Liverpool with an array of shiny prizes, and while the rigours of Premier League football could hardly have helped his case as he fought and failed for fitness, Werder Bremen presented a clean slate.
First Impressions
What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.
Of course, Keita had proved himself and then some on the German scene in the past and the slower pace theoretically hinted at more a fruitful career.
But the niggling woes that have eaten away at him are not easily rectified, and Keita's return to his erstwhile fluency is not something that will be easily restored, as if alchemised into something robust after taking leave of Klopp's high-octane set-up.
In fact, the diminutive ace has only featured three times for his current club, withdrawn before the hour mark on his lone starting berth, and yet to play since.
Only completing 69% of his passes that day, against Hoffenheim, Keita's ring rust was patently clear, losing all five of his contested duels and also being dribbled past.
While he's still only 29 years old, it will take a sustained run of competitive fixtures to bring him back to a semblance of his former level, and the likelihood of this is troublingly uncertain.
The worst part about the whole ordeal is that this is a player of elite talent, a midfielder of dynamic ability, catching the eye with his many-faceted strengths, stricken by ceaseless anatomical issues.
Keita was once described as a "world-class" footballer by his former Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk. His prowess was known to those around him, is known.
But unfortunately, the reality of his Anfield career is one of poignancy and wistfulness. He might have won the whole gamut of Liverpool's major silverware under Klopp's leadership, but he'd give a lot to rewind and start afresh, injury problems expunged.