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It took four seconds and five touches for the Premier League to discover what Naby Keita is about.

If his efforts against West Ham didn't serve as the ultimate preview, then Crystal Palace made it abundantly clear.

Collecting Alisson Becker's pass deep in his own half, he collected the ball and swiveled his body in one motion, freeing himself from the attentive Andros Townsend and fashioning space to run into to.

After a couple of advancing touches, he launched an incredible 70-yard pass on to Mohamed Salah's instep, with the Egyptian uncharacteristically spurning the chance to lob Wayne Hennessey.

No matter. The nation's collective exhale of admiration, coupled with the rest of the league's inhale of panic, is all that was needed.

In his first two games as a Liverpool player, Keita has provided the all-action displays the Reds had anticipated. After waiting a year to finally see him in red, he has slotted into Liverpool's midfield with ease, working hard defensively and providing a real threat going forward.

But the truth is Keita has not even truly begun to do what he is capable of.

Take the two visualisations of his outings for Jurgen Klopp so far.

These heatmaps show the concentration of where Keita touched the ball; it reflects the positions on the field where he was in possession.

Against West Ham, he popped up in central positions - including much deeper - but was largely receiving the ball on the left-hand side in an attacking role.

The trip to Crystal Palace, meanwhile, showed a slightly different role, although with a similar philosophy. He was prominent on the left-hand side, but also covered in a more central-to-right sided role, showing his ability to move around the pitch.

The Guinean, of course, is playing in a slightly different role to the one he was expected to when first signing last year.

Initially considered the supreme no.8 for Klopp's system - the 'second' midfielder who both defends and attacks - the delay in using Jordan Henderson and Fabinho has led to Keita lining up alongside James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum.

This has led to Keita playing more advanced at times, almost in the role Philippe Coutinho had crafted, collecting the ball on the left-hand side and looking to link up with the front players.

Indeed, with Roberto Firmino dropping deeper in his forward role, Liverpool have resembled a 4-1-2-1-2 at times, with Keita and Milner serving as the left and right tips of a midfield diamond, with Firmino at the top; Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, move into the space created.

Yet looking at his previous season with RB Leipzig highlights how disciplined he is working in his current role, and how it has been slightly altered since working under Klopp.

In this Champions League tie at home to Porto in October 2017, Keita was everywhere. He would be in possession all across the pitch, both deeper and more advanced, and play a big part in the Bundesliga side's 3-2 victory.

(Image: OPTA)

Against Napoli in the Europa League earlier this year, a similar all-round display. He would be a touch more defensive - unsurprising, given the quality of the opposition - but he would also drift to the right-hand side and look to magic something in an advanced, central position.

(Image: OPTA)

Granted, West Ham and Palace are different propositions to Porto and Napoli - but conversely, Keita would perhaps be expected to show more positional discipline against the higher calibre opposition rather than sides Liverpool would dominate territory and possession against.

While Keita has been receiving plaudits for his start on Merseyside - and rightly so - there could be even more to come from him.

His versatility and ability to play different roles is impressive, and part of the reason Klopp waited a year for his arrival.

Now Liverpool might have to wait a little longer to see the 'real' Naby Keita - but the fact this current iteration looks has opposition players in a spin demonstrates what a talent he truly is.