Leeds United reportedly wanted to sign Mandela Keita over the summer and now the Royal Antwerp midfielder is proving that he has the talent to play for a club of the size of Barcelona, according to former Jupiler League goalkeeper Frank Boeckx.
It is not every day a team loses 5-0 in the Champions League, yet find two of their players emerging from the wreckage with their reputations unscathed.
But, as Royal Antwerp wandered onto on the wrong end of a Joao Felix masterclass in Barcelona, midfield duo Arthur Vermeeren and Mandela Keita can, at least, look themselves in the mirror and say with enoough confidence that they left a good account of themselves against the might and the mastery of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan.
Leeds United like Royal Antwerp ace Mandela Keita
18-year-old Vermeeren is one of Europe’s most highly-rated youngsters, likened incessantly to Barcelona legends Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
Keita, in contrast, is not quite so coveted; clubs in the Championship – rather than the Champions League – fluttering their eyelashes in his direction over the summer. According to Het Nieuwsblad, Leeds United made contact with Keita before he returned to Antwerp on a £7 million loan-to-buy deal in August.
But if Antwerp can make a better account of themselves in the remainder of the group stage – easier tests to come in FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk – Keita, like Vermeeren, could maybe afford to aim higher than England’s second-tier.
Bright futures await
“Unfortunately, they were drowned along with the rest. But put Vermeeren or Keita on the other side and they will participate easily, because the Barcelona team is much better, always has the ball and puts you under a lot of pressure,” Boeckx tells Sporza, the Antwerp midfield strangled of possession at the Camp Nou.
“Vermeeren or Keita played smoothly against of Barcelona. But, in difficult matches, it is a different challenge for them.”
With European football now on offer to Keita in Antwerp, any hopes Leeds may have of signing Keita in 2024 may rest on whether an immediate return to the Premier League can be secured.
Keita, meanwhile, has been described in some quarters as a mix of N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba; blending the former’s tenacity with the latter’s elegance.
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