Naby Keita has big shoes to fill at Liverpool as the Merseysiders confirmed on Wednesday that he would be donning the No.8 jersey, last worn by club legend Steven Gerrard, next season.
“Naby Keita has been allocated the No.8 jersey for Liverpool,” the club stated on the same day they unveiled the player.
Gerrard, a product of the Liverpool Academy, came through the ranks to become one of their greatest-ever players and led the Reds to a memorable UEFA Champions League win in 2005.
The iconic midfielder hung up his boots in 2016, after ending his career with MLS side LA Galaxy. He then joined his boyhood club in a managerial role, taking charge of the academy side before making a foray into senior management last month by taking up the vacant job at Scottish giants Rangers.
Keita became Liverpool’s record signing last season when Reg Bull Leipzig and the Reds agreed to a reported fee of £63 million. Virgil van Dijk’s £75 million acquisition in January subsequently made the Dutch centre back the club’s priciest acquisition.
However, under the terms of the agreement, the Guinean remained with the Bundesliga side for the entirety of the 2016-17 season before finally linking up with Liverpool in the summer of 2018.
The 23-year-old will officially become a Liverpool player on 1 July, 2018. And the African was in for a pleasant surprise for the No.8 jersey was given to him by his predecessor himself.
“It was an incredible day for me. He gave me the No.8 jersey. When it happened, it was a surprise and I didn’t expect it,” Keita gushed about Gerrard’s gesture.
“When he came in, I looked at him and said, ‘wow’ because he is a legend. He is somebody who always showed respect, who gave his all on the pitch, somebody who is loved here. If somebody like that gives you his shirt number, it’s not to play around with, it is to try and do as much as he did – that’s my motivation.”