Keita has been on the books at Anfield since the summer of 2018, but injury issues and poor form have prevented him from becoming a fixture in the first team under Klopp so far into his Reds stint.
The midfielder caught the eye with an impressive display in midfield at the weekend in Liverpool’s 3-2 FA Cup win over Manchester City, although it has again been a start and stop campaign for him.
Liverpool legend Lawrenson has stressed that Keita need to prove that he can maintain a consistent level throughout a decent run of games to nail down a starting role under the German, ahead of the likes of Jordan Henderson.
Lawrenson admitted Keita has been unfortunate at times with injuries but added he needs to make Liverpool realise his quality, which Klopp has been clear about him having.
Asked whether he thinks Keita just need to prove that he can go ten, 15 games on the bounce to nail down a starting spot ahead of the likes of Henderson, Lawrenson told Off The Ball: “Yes, that is it.
“You know there is a player in there.
“I think Klopp has always said that there is a player in there and he keeps playing him thinking that he is just going to have this run where suddenly Liverpool realise the ability of the player that they signed all those years ago.
“But he is just one of those who has been really, really unfortunate.
“He has never really had a consistent run in the team.
“He has got in and maybe not play particularly well or then he has got injuries.
“He has actually been really, really unlucky.
“But obviously, he gets bypassed probably at the moment because Klopp thinks that he has got other players, who are eight, nine, out of ten where Keita might be six one game and eight the next week, which at that level, you cannot have.”
Liverpool are gearing up to host rivals Manchester United in the league tonight and it remains to be seen who all will feature in the middle of the park under Klopp.
