'It's true I performed well in Germany' - Liverpool's Naby Keita admits Premier League struggle

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has revealed that English Premier League is more aggressive and faster than the German Bundesliga as he familiarises himself with the dynamics of football in England.

Keita completed a permanent switch to Anfield last summer but has had a series of underwhelming displays for Jurgen Klopp's side, until lately.

The Guinea midfielder, renowned for his ability to create chances and drive play forward, has notched just an assist in 24 matches across all competitions so far this campaign.

Before his switch to Anfield, the 24-year-old was a key force in RB Leipzig's set-up garnering 16 goals and 14 assists during his two-year spell at the club and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season in his debut season.

Aware of the expectations from him, the Conakry-born midfielder highlighted the reasons for his initials struggles in England.

“It’s a lot faster here. The style of play is a lot more aggressive and the intensity of the game is really high in relation to Germany," Keita told the club website.

"That’s fine, I’m now part of it, this is the league I’m playing in. I’m just going to keep working hard.

“The German league is decent as well, it’s one of the best. Nothing is easy in football, it’s just about the business of working hard. Every game you play, you do your best.

“It’s true that when I was in Germany I performed well and played a lot but here I’ve come to a big club where everyone is capable of doing great things. Now it’s down to me to work so I can perform even better in this league.”

His current form has seen fans hail him with manager Jurgen Klopp praising him as 'an outstandingly good player'.

“I play, I don’t watch my own performances. It’s nice that the fans appreciated me but I really do want to achieve more and do more. I don’t want to disappoint anybody," he added.

“I’m here to bring as much as I possibly can to the team and I want to work even harder so I can do even better than people thought I did against Bournemouth.

“I’m going to try to do better and better in the remaining matches, so I can finish the season as well as I possibly can with the team.”

The 24-year-old who was an unused substitute in Liverpool's goalless draw against Manchester United on Sunday will hope to the Reds' starting XI for Wednesday's Premier League outing against Watford.