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The Naby Keita fiasco is continuing even out of the spotlight in Hungary.
Keita, who Liverpool signed from Leipzig for £50million in 2018 is now plying his trade for Ferencvaros, well, not quite yet anyway.
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Heralded as one of the Bundesliga’s best players when he joined the Reds, Keita left Anfield a Champions League and Premier League winner, but injuries dogged his career.
That was nothing compared to his 2023/24 season with Werder Bremen, though, with his first campaign back in Germany a complete disaster.
The midfielder managed just 107 minutes for Bremen all season, fewer than the 177 he played for Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Then - if things weren’t bad enough - Bremen put out a statement in April saying they’d removed Keita from their squad and handed him a ‘substantial fine’.
It was alleged that he refused to travel for his first game back from injury - against Bayer Leverkusen - after learning that he’d be on the bench.
Keita denied those claims and later said he was ready to return, but Bremen coach Ole Werner stuck to his guns, even into the current campaign, with Keita left out of action before heading on loan to Ferencvaros in January.
The move was seen as a coup for the traditional Hungarian side, but would you have believed it, Keita is yet to play for them.
The 30-year-old has been eligible for eight games since signing, but has gone from not being included in the squad to being left on the bench.
His new manager, Premier League and Ireland great Robbie Keane has since been forced to comment on the player.
On Thursday night Ferencvaros were knocked out of the Europa League, failing to hold onto their 1-0 lead over Viktoria Plzen by losing 3-0 in the second leg.
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Keita spent the match on the bench, and Keane was later asked why their most anticipated signing in recent years still hasn’t made an appearance.
“Naby is available, but he is still trying to catch up physically,” Keane said pre-match, before later adding more on the subject.
“We are relying on the medical staff to the maximum on when Keita can play,” he said post-defeat.
“Obviously the sooner the better, but he needs to play a few more games to be at the level we expect from him.
“We are really looking forward to him on the pitch, as he can definitely bring peace to the team.”
On February 11, Keita returned to the playing field for Ferencvaros’ B-team, but it’s been a long time since he’s played professionally.
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He did feature at the summer Olympics, but his last match for Bremen was on March 30, 2024, making it almost a year since he showed the close control and dribbling skills that made him one of the game’s most exciting up-and-coming players in Germany.
