As fans and pundits queued up to lavish praise upon Naby Keita in the aftermath of a Premier League debut full of promise, Jurgen Klopp offered a somewhat more measured appraisal.

"I’m pleased, absolutely, but actually that’s what we expected," the German said as he rounded up a reflection on his new No.8's performance.

Of course, away from Anfield's press facilities, others were happy to get carried away by what they had witnessed during Liverpool's 4-0 win over West Ham.

Former Reds goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar effectively declared Keita 'the new Steven Gerrard', while Jamie Redknapp insisted in the immediate aftermath that the 23-year-old already looked like a veteran of the league.

Even Georginio Wijnaldum, a man who could see his playing time limited by Keita's arrival, refused to hold back in his assessment after the match.

Asked what skills his new team-mate brings to the table, the Dutchman listed goals, assists, ball retention, counter-pressing and possession recovery – essentially, the complete midfielder.

So why, then, was Klopp - a man renowned for taking any and every opportunity to publicly instil confidence in his players - so reserved in praising his new acquisition?

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The answer perhaps lies in the Liverpool manager's press conference response.

Keita did not do anything unexpected for the simple reason that, given the groundwork that preceded his arrival at Anfield, the club's coaching staff know all about the midfielder's unique talents.

That is why Klopp and the club's sporting director Michael Edwards were willing to wait 12 months to get their man, and why they could not resist attempting to bring that move forward to January following the departure of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Liverpool felt that, unlike mooted targets such as Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, Keita's suitability to Klopp's high-pressing and fast-breaking system meant he would hit the ground running were they able to bring him in early.

Red Bull Leipzig ultimately rebuffed all offers, but the club's scouts have been proven right, albeit 12 months later than hoped.

They knew as much by Keita's fifth day at Melwood, when Klopp introduced his new signing to the four-sided training games that have been a feature of pre-season since his arrival.

The bizarre exercise sees players tightly packed into a square pitch and needing to complete six passes before scoring in one of four nets, with the emphasis on close control, passing under pressure and winning the ball back as quickly as possible.

And within minutes of kick-off, the Guinean had proven to his new team-mates and excited staff huddled pitchside that he possessed each of those skills in abundance. Clearly, they were dealing with a special player.

Klopp's post-match restraint on Sunday was no doubt inspired by those countless early training ground performances and an awareness that there is even more to come.

There is always room for improvement, however, as Klopp revealed after the debut. "We don't have a common language," he said.

"He speaks a little bit of German, a little bit of English. Not too much, though – like, 'hello' and 'goodbye'."

On the evidence thus far, by the time Keita's fluency with language matches his fluency with a football, Klopp will need to have extended his own grasp of English in order to find fresh superlatives for his No.8.