How will Naby Keita respond to comments from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp?

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has given an honest assessment of the club’s midfielder Naby Keita by claiming he’s been “average” in recent games.

The 23-year-old is yet to quite make the desired impact at Anfield since his arrival in the summer and is part of some healthy competition in the centre of the park.

He is yet to score or assist in his opening 11 appearances for the Reds, but last season he showed for RB Leipzig his influence in attack by being directly involved in 16 goals over the course of the campaign.

Keita is taking some time adjusting to the style of English football and Klopp has been open about his start on Merseyside.

“His start was really good and then average. That’s how it is,” Klopp said in his pre-match press conference for Watford, as cited by the Liverpool Echo.

But will the manager’s comments impact the player in a negative way?

Some players may struggle to deal with public criticism, but Liverpool fans will hope their midfielder doesn’t fit into that category and can bounce back.

The Guinea international may use it as motivation and he undoubtedly has the potential to be a regular starter in Liverpool’s XI.

He is an all-action midfielder that has the work-rate to be effective in the Premier League, while he’s got attacking and defensive qualities too.

Klopp has proven he’s extremely strong at managing his players on a personal level at Liverpool and it’s certainly far too soon to be writing of the talented Keita, who is on a mammoth £120,000-a-week deal (Spotrac).