KEITA FEELS PRIVILEGED TO WEAR ICONIC NUMBER EIGHT SHIRT

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has said he is ready to make his own mark on the number eight jersey at the club.

Source: Sky Sports

Keita is the first player to wear the number since former club captain Steven Gerrard left in the summer in 2015 to sign for LA Galaxy.

The Guinea international joined Jurgen Klopp's side from RB Leipzig for £52.75m in the summer and has impressed so far in the red jersey to many Liverpool fans and pundits, including Jamie Carragher (Sky Sports pundit and ex Liverpool player) who had claimed at the start of the season that he was backing Keita to blossom into a top player at Liverpool.

Carragher also claimed that he was better than Thiago and that he was one of the missing pieces that Klopp had to fill in order to have a team that was able to challenge for the title this season.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Keita spoke about how honoured and privileged he was to be able to wear the iconic number 8 shirt for Liverpool.

"You see the number eight is really legendary and to wear this shirt now it is legendary," said Keita. "It used to belong to a player who was a legend, that was respected here.

"When I was a child, that really was in my mind, to play for a great club like Liverpool. Well here I am now, I don't mean I'm not going to be like him because each of us are individuals.

"He left his own mark, I want to leave my own mark, I am going to work really hard to leave my own mark like he did. To play for Liverpool, that is a dream I had as a child and here I am now."

The Guinea international also spoke about how he was finding learning English so far and adapting to a new culture in England.

"I am following a course, I am really motivated to speak English, it is really important for me," he added. "I want to be able to speak to the coach, I want to speak to the other players on the team and I am really working hard.

"I am hoping in six months I will be able to do these interviews in English.

"I find the scouse accent a bit difficult but I will try my best [to learn some]. I do not know any scouse, I have been trying to speak English I have not been able to learn any scouse yet."

Keita so far has made eight appearances in the Premier League so far for Liverpool, registering 0 goals and no assists so far.

However, in the games that he has played so far, he has shown positive aspects of his performances to Liverpool fans.

Keita in all competitions has made 10 appearances, but his Liverpool career has hit an early scare, after his hamstring injury against Napoli has limited his chances to make more appearances for Liverpool in their most recent games, e.g. against Huddersfield where he wasn't in the match day squad.

It is likely that he will be out for a minimum of two weeks still with that hamstring injury so will miss Liverpool's upcoming match this Wednesday in the Champions League against Red Star Belgrade at Anfield.