The signing of Naby Keïta for almost £53m in August 2017 was the third time in the space of 14 months that Liverpool broke the transfer record for an African player. But while Senegal’s Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah of Egypt helped Jürgen Klopp’s side reach the Champions League final in 2018, Guinea midfielder Keïta took time to adapt to his new surroundings. Tracking his first season in English football and featuring interviews with Klopp and those closest to Liverpool’s three biggest African stars, Ed Aarons tells the story of the thrilling 2018/19 campaign that ended with the club’s sixth European crown after just missing out to Manchester City in the thrilling Premier League title race.
Yet the historic season which saw Mané and Salah share the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Arsenal’s Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would not have been possible had it not been for those who blazed the trail before them. From Arthur Wharton — the first player born in Africa to appear in the Football League — to Steve Mokone, Albert Johanneson, Brian and Mark Stein, Peter Ndlovu, Christopher Wreh, Lucas Radebe, Jay Jay Okocha, Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré and Riyad Mahrez, Made in Africa tells the story of the pioneers who changed the face of English football forever.
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