Naby Keita finally signs for Liverpool after summer-long pursuit - Jurgen Klopp may have to wait a year but the midfielder is an ideal fit for his team

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Naby Keita's name was destined to find its way into a few headlines over the summer transfer window.

The RB Leipzig midfielder's future was one of the hot topics of pre-season and with a £48million release clause in his contract coming into effect next summer, it looked set to become a saga which would return after this season following the German club's insistence that they 22-year-old was staying put.

But after having a series of big-money bids rejected by the Bundesliga club, Liverpool recalculated their approach in order to secure the signature of a man who was one of Jurgen Klopp's primary targets.

Keita will now arrive at Anfield in 2018, having agreed terms and undergone a medical at Liverpool before returning to Leipzig for the rest of the season. 

Naby Keita has finally signed for Liverpool but he won't join the club until next summer 

 Keita has been a top target for Liverpool this summer and finally, a deal has been reached 

Liverpool had two bids rejected for Keita worth up to £70m before agreeing to pay a supplement on top of the £48m release clause to get their man. 

Sportsmail provides the lowdown on Liverpool's new club record signing. 

Who is Naby Keita? 

A young central midfielder from Guinea, Keita has exploded into the higher echelons of European football in his first season at RB Leipzig. 

After joining from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2016, the 22-year-old took the Bundesliga by storm as the motor behind Leipzig's surprise success.

His tireless work in defensive midfield and his penetrative qualities in attack have drawn regular comparisons with Chelsea's N'Golo Kante, while others have professed to find similarities with Keita's idol, Andres Iniesta. 

Former Schalke player Hans Sarpei described him as 'amazing', saying that he 'moves like music', while his former coach at Salzburg Oscar Garcia says he is 'one of the three best players I have ever coached.' 

Liverpool had two bids in the region of £70million for Keita rejected this summer 

Is he really that good? 

Anyone who has watched Keita over the last 12 months would struggle to find anything but praise for him. 

He has been the natural flag-bearer for Leipzig's fierce pressing style, hunting down his opponents in midfield and never resting until he has won the ball back. 

That has made him perhaps the most significant element of what has been an incredible success story in Leipzig. 

It is he, more than any other player, who has glued together a team which exceeded all expectations by finishing second in their maiden Bundesliga season.

Keita's fierce pressing style in midfield has been the key to Leipzig's success in Germany

'When I get onto the field, all I think about is how best to defend and win the ball back, about how best to support my team. That is my main task,' he said when describing himself.

Liverpool fans will now be paying a particularly close eye on Keita's progress when Leipzig play in the Champions League.

The German club have been drawn in Group G, alongside Monaco, Porto and Besiktas.

So he is mainly a defensive player? 

Yes, and yet his qualities going forward have also been priceless for Leipzig. Having won the ball back, Keita is always quick to move to the next step of Leipzig's tactical style, often being at either the genesis or the heart of their rapid counter-attacks. 

With eight goals and eight assists in his 31 league appearances for the club last season, Keita was one of the most prolific players in a team packed with attacking talent. 

He could not only direct an attack from the edge of the final third, but also pop up as a poacher in the penalty area. 

Keita's qualities going forward have been priceless in Leipzig's unexpected success

Leipzig were reluctant to sell their key man but he had a release cause next summer at £48m

It is arguably no coincidence, in fact, that Leipzig's sustained title challenge began to stutter in the spring, around the same time that Keita's potency in attack also began to wane. 

Would he suit the Premier League? 

Having been such a brilliant exponent of Leipzig's style last season, there is little reason to think he would struggle in the Premier League. 

The comparisons with Kante are not for nothing, and he would arguably bring a similar mixture of scrap, beguiling intelligence and razor sharp penetration to any English club. 

Liverpool have paid a supplement on top of the £48m release clause to sign Keita 

Jurgen Klopp is a known admirer and was been keen to bring him to Anfield this summer

Liverpool were the most attractive destination for Keita.

Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl is, if not a carbon copy of Jurgen Klopp, very much of the same school, and the combination of tactical familiarity and Klopp's man-management skills could be ideal for Keita.