He may well start in Liverpool's Champions League clash against Barcelona tonight- but Naby Keita could conceivably have been lining up for the opposition if things had gone differently two years ago.
According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo , in 2017 the catalan club were extremely keen on signing Keita from RB Leipzig, with Barcelona's former technical secretary Robert Fernandez meeting with Keita's agent on a number of occasions.
Only two things stopped the reigning Spanish champions from making the signing. Firstly, Leipzig raised their asking price, and then Keita himself claimed that he wanted to feel "both sporting and emotionally wrapped up in this new challenge."
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Barcelona also allegedly could not guarantee him a place in the starting 11 every week, and there are rumours the player requested a salary of around €7m per year, wages the club felt were far too expensive for a player of his calibre.
As a result Barcelona dropped their interest in the Guinea international and a deal was agreed with Liverpool instead.
It is not yet clear whether Barcelona will live to regret missing out on Keita or not. The 24-year-old has had a mixed debut season at Anfield, struggling initially but gradually starting to show more signs of promise.
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He has made 25 Premier League appearances with a return of two goals, most recently after just seconds had passed in Liverpool's thumping 5-0 win over Huddersfield .
He also scored in their 2-0 Champions League home victory against FC Porto in the quarter finals.
It remains to be seen whether Keita will make the starting 11 tonight, with some tipping the player to be chosen in the middle of the park.
If he impresses, Barcelona could well look back to the summer of 2017 and rue missing the chance to make him one of their own.
