Naby Keita already a top player - Former Red Bull scout

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Jul 06, 2017. 10:00

Naby Keita has room to improve but is “already on the top” according to former Red Bull Global Soccer scout Benoit Thans.

The 22-year-old RB Leipzig midfielder is a transfer target for English giants Liverpool, who could spend somewhere in the region of £70-million if British reports are correct.

Thans knows all about Keita’s qualities, having brought the Guinean to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria in 2014, where he spent two years before signing for their ‘sister’ club RB Leipzig in Germany.

Keita played a major role in the 2016/17 campaign as Leipzig finished an impressive second on the Bundesliga log behind Bayern Munich, earning a place in the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

"Now I don't know what the future is for him, but I know that many clubs are interested in him,” Thans told ESPN.

"But I know that Ralf Rangnick [Leipzig’s director of sports] wants to keep him.

"When you go to play in the Bundesliga, you certainly make very good progression.

“But now it's also financial and if you say Liverpool are interested -- all players are interested when Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United come to see you and they are maybe interested.

“It's always good for a player -- it's a big name in the world.

"For me, he can make progression again, but he's already on the top."