Liverpool fans react as Naby Keita reportedly wants number eight shirt

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Naby Keita has reportedly asked to wear Liverpool’s number eight shirt, which was last worn by Reds legend Steven Gerrard.

With Liverpool reportedly spending £53 million on bringing him to Anfield, you may have thought that Naby Keita would look to try and avoid adding additional pressure onto his shoulders ahead of his first season in the Premier League.

There has been a year of anticipation, and now the day that Keita officially becomes a Liverpool player is imminent – and to mark his arrival, the 23-year-old has seemingly made a big statement.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Keita has requested to wear the number eight shirt at Anfield, and has been including the number in his signature when signing autographs in what is perhaps an obvious indication that Liverpool have agreed to hand him the shirt.

It makes sense for Keita to take on the available number given that it was on the back of the shirt he wore during his time with RB Leipzig, but it has led to plenty of discussion on social media given that the last Liverpool player to don the number was Steven Gerrard.

There is some objection on Twitter it seems, with some fans believing that the club should have retired the jersey when Gerrard ended his time on Merseyside, but the majority of the supporters appear to think that it is a brilliant move to hand Keita the number.

Many seem to believe that he is good enough to take on the pressure of being Liverpool’s number eight and love the confidence from the Guinea international to accept the challenge of wearing the shirt.

Here is the best of the reaction to Keita’s reported request…