Naby Keita’s definitely got a bit of aggression in him.
Keita was memorably involved in a training ground bust-up with a RB Leipzig teammate in preseason training last July and collected several red cards at the beginning of the current campaign.
The latest example of Keita’s feistiness occurred on Monday night, when Leipzig fell to a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt.
At the end of a frantic first half, Liverpool-bound Keita sparked a mass brawl after a late tackle on Frankfurt’s Makoto Hasebe resulted in several players clashing.
It's kicking off at the Waldstadion 😡
An end-to-end first 45 minutes finishes with a scuffle in the middle of the pitch…
Quickly becoming a must-watch second half on BT Sport 3 HD 📺 pic.twitter.com/5zx1nBmXYK
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 19, 2018
The referee kept his cards in his pocket after the scuffle which never got any further than handbags, and Liverpool fans who had tuned in to keep an eye on their new midfielder were thrilled to see the fight possessed by Keita.
https://twitter.com/DanAli2/status/965686415240712192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitc.com%2Fen-gb%2F2018%2F02%2F19%2Fliverpool-fans-react-on-twitter-as-naby-keita-sparks-22-man-braw%2F
Can’t wait for Naby Keïta to arrive at #LFC man. Be proper nice to have a real hard bastard in our midfield again to get under opposition players skins 🔴
— Jack (@JackHallows_) February 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/MackemScouse/status/965684206520152065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitc.com%2Fen-gb%2F2018%2F02%2F19%2Fliverpool-fans-react-on-twitter-as-naby-keita-sparks-22-man-braw%2F
https://twitter.com/Deebiosi/status/965684125679194112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitc.com%2Fen-gb%2F2018%2F02%2F19%2Fliverpool-fans-react-on-twitter-as-naby-keita-sparks-22-man-braw%2F
Absolutely cannot wait for naby Keita 🙈
— Stefan Care (@StefanCare) February 19, 2018
While supporters were excited by the prospect of seeing some bite added to their midfield when Keita officially joins Jurgen Klopp’s side in the summer, it wasn’t all good news as the 23-year-old hobbled off with what appeared to be a thigh injury on the hour mark.
Leipzig were adamant that they wouldn’t allow Keita to move to Anfield last month as they saw him as a crucial part of their attempts to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
OFFICIAL: Naby #Keïta will remain an #RBLeipzig player until 30th June 2018. We wish to put the speculation about a January move to @LFC to bed. pic.twitter.com/Cilx09m24e
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) January 14, 2018