Werner on Keïta's form woes: "We know what he's missing."
SV Werder Bremen head-coach Ole Werner again tried to put a positive spin on the problems surrounding summer celebrity signing Naby Keïta following a disappointing outing in a Thursday test fixture.
Guinean international Naby Keïta has still been unable to parlay the positives from his recent Africa Cup of Nations campaign into more playing time for his German club team. The 29-year-old - kept off the pitch due to injury and competition issues since returning from international duty - only logged his first minutes of the entire calendar year via a four-minute relief shift in last weekend's 1-2 loss to 1. FC Union Berlin.
Speaking about the blockbuster summer signing's continued problems working his way into the SV Werder Bremen team at a presser ahead of last weekend's action, SV trainer Ole Werner wasn't shy about supplying a long list of Keïta's deficiencies. While also insisting that he and club management still backed the former Liverpool star, Werner was unsparing.
"[He's missing] explosiveness, liveliness, pace, and a clean touch," Werner said one week ago today, "The important thing for him is to take the first step and recommend himself regularly in training. Of course, we support him. That's our job. He's been accepting of our decisions, yet remains impatient because he wants to play."
Keïta was given a chance to play from the start in today's international break test fixture against Hannover 96. Starting behind Marvin Ducksch and Dawid Kownacki as a buttressing support attacker on the right in Werner's 3-5-2, Keïta got a chance to work up alongside Ducksch after Kownacki exited proceedings injured.
All throughout the course of an hour-long shift, Keïta almost always passed the ball not long after touching it. He wasn't able to pick up much pace or involve himself in the duels. His one attempted finish was well wide of the mark. The Guinean often hung his head. Bremen ended up losing to Hannover 1-3.
"It was about discussing what he was still capable of," Werner noted in a post-match interview when asked to divulge the details of what he talked about his player with at the half, "[his form] is completely normal for someone struggling to get back onto the pitch after multiple set-backs."
"We know what he's missing," Werner continued, "and we need to get him into more training sessions. The important thing is to get him back training consistently. Then I believe he can improve step-by-step and his dynamism and rhythm will return."