Kader Keita: Dazzling African Winger Snubs Everton to Join Rijkaard’s Galatasaray
Everton have lost the battle for Ivory Coast international Kader Keita as he will complete a 3-year deal to join Turkish giants Galatasaray today for 8.5m euros. The player had struggled to make an impact at Lyon since arriving from Lille in the Summer of 2007.
Keita is an exciting attacking player who can operate anywhere across the pitch in an attacking role but is primarily used on the flanks. He is nicknamed ‘Popito’ and is strong, direct, quick and full of tricks so would have added a different dimension to the current Everton squad as they looked to build on last season’s 5th placed finish. Instead he has joined new Galatasaray coach Frank Rijkaard as the Turkish side look to rebuild after an extremely poor season.
The Ivory Coast star had failed to impress at Lyon making just 22 league appearances last season (13 starts), one goal as the club failed to retain the French championship finishing 3rd. Overall he has made 52 league appearances (32 starts) and scored 5 goals in his two seasons at Lyon which is a poor return for a player who commanded a fee of 16 million euros.
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Keita was born in Abidjan and began his career with Ivory Coast side Africa Sports before moving to Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The attacking star moved to French club Lille in 2005 and enjoyed two superb seasons there. In those two seasons Keita made 63 league appearances and scored 15 goals and was attracting interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs such as AC Milan prior to his move to Lyon. However, the move has not worked out and the player is set to be offloaded as Lyon look to rebuild their squad after a poor season by their own standards.
The 27-year-old has played 44 times for his country and scored 9 goals. He was part of the Ivory Coast squad at the 2006 World Cup playing against both Argentina and Serbia at the tournament. He finished runner-up to Didier Drogba in the 2006 Ivorian Player of the Year awards ahead of the likes of Didier Zokora and Kolo Toure.
A player with the versatility of Keita would’ve been a welcome addition to the Everton squad which lacks any blistering pace or dribbling ability on the flanks. Unfortunately, Moyes will have been frustrated as he has missed out on another potential new arrival.
Do you like the look of Kader Keita? Would he have been the man to add more pace and skill on the flanks? Which alternative player would you like David Moyes to sign? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Everton, Galatasaray, Ivory Coast, Kader Keita, Lille, Lyon
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:35
Well said Barry. I was about to say the reason he didn’t join Everton is that, after they inquired about him, they were put off by the price, but you put it a little more succinctly.
July 4th, 2009 at 10:03
Ofcourse he selected a team playin for the title every season, not a moderate premiership team.