Naby Keita completed his long-awaited move to Liverpool at the start of this month, having originally put pen-to-paper a year ago.

The three major transfer stories of Liverpool's 2017 summer window surrounded the futures of Keita, Virgil van Dijk, and Philippe Coutinho - although none of the trio would get their move until the following January.

Now the squad looks a little more like it was supposed to, with Coutinho gone while Van Dijk and Keita make up an impressive looking Reds side.

Fabinho has also joined from AS Monaco - a surprise transfer for most - and this week saw Liverpool finally secure the most needed of the lot.

Alisson Becker has signed for Liverpool from AS Roma at a world-record fee for a goalkeeper, surely ending their problem between the sticks for the foreseeable future.

But of all the big transfers, Keita may be the most exciting of the lot - the fans have had a year of anticipation, after all.

The deal was finally agreed shortly before last year's window shut and Keita has now revealed how Liverpool managed to pull that off despite the interest of Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

“It’s true there were other teams involved like the ones you mention [Bayern and Barca] but a big part of my decision was the role of the coach,” Keita told the Guardian in an interview. “We had good conversations.

"The words he spoke to me about this project really convinced me."

Not that the Liverpool boss was the only one who convinced Keita that a move to Anfield would be beneficial; the Reds' new number ten had a huge impact, too.

"I could see how the club was developing and I spoke at length with Sadio [Mané]," said Keita. "Sadio is like a brother to me.

"We had nine months together at Salzburg and built up a good rapport. We have been great friends since that time.

"He told me what a great club this was and how the team was progressing and had great potential.”