• Featured

How will Liverpool cope after Mane’s exit?

Sadio Mane, Liverpool
Getty Images
Advertisement

After six years on Merseyside, Sadio Mane’s time at Liverpool is coming to an end. Bayern Munich’s pursuit of the Senegalese finally came to a close on the 22nd of June when the German giant got their man and put pen to paper.

When Mane joined from Southampton in 2016 few would’ve anticipated the influence his lightning-quick pace would have on the team’s performance as the Jurgen Klopp era got underway. He walks away with an impressive tally of 120 goals and 38 assists from his 269 Liverpool appearances. The 30-year-old is entering the closing stages of his career and there is little doubt that the Anfield club have seen his best years, but even so, the remaining attacking options now have big boots to fill. Luiz Diaz, Diogo Jota and new signee Darwin Nunez will all need to step up to fill the gap left in his absence and limit the impact of his departure.

Mane has established a legacy at Liverpool

Since his arrival Mane has acted as the template for the ideal attacking forward Klopp has utilized over the course of his spell in charge of the iconic club. The African attacker routinely demonstrated his explosive pace and natural tendency to threaten behind opposing defences and provided us with memorable moment after moment. The 94th-minute winner at Goodison, the opener at the Allianz, sealing the comeback at Villa, claiming the golden boot in 2019, the list goes on. His penetrative running and keen eye for goal perfectly complemented Roberto Firmino’s more measured approach culminating in a prolific scoring record for the Reds in his six-year spell. Such was the success of Mane’s transfer that it prompted many more like it; Mohammed Salah, Jota and Diaz the most obvious examples of this all of whom have contributed enormously to Liverpool’s success over the last four seasons. His unique offensive style made him an ideal player to slot in anywhere in the front three and resulted in him playing a significant role in a now-iconic front three alongside Firmino and Salah. Mane exceeded all expectations of him when he came in as a means of accommodating Phillipe Coutinho on the left, helping to turn Liverpool’s fortunes around and establishing himself as a key component in Klopp’s plans. The Senegalese star will be immensely difficult to replace; he is one of the best players in the world and with a trophy haul of a League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Champions League and Premier League title he deserves to be remembered as a Liverpool great.

Can Klopp’s new generation fill the void?

The boss will not likely dwell on Mane’s exit for too long given the plethora of attacking options at his disposal but they need to deliver if Liverpool are to hit the heights they did last term. Liverpool managed to keep pace with Manchester City until the final day of the Premier League campaign and got to the Champions League final in large part due to the attacking contributions of the Senegalese star and it will be down to the exploits of the fresh faces at Anfield to replicate that form. Liverpool are currently 9/4 to win the league next year according to these betting sites and the promising performances of Jota and Diaz will give Liverpool fans a lot of hope the team can carry their form forward into next season. Jota in particular made an instant impact scoring as a substitute in his first Premier League appearance and has maintained that form throughout his tenure on Merseyside. Despite suffering a setback with a knee injury he has continued to impress and still managed to end the campaign with a total of nine goals in 19 PL appearances and has established himself as a more than capable alternative to the regular front three.  but that hasn’t stopped Klopp from looking to the transfer market to bolster his ranks. One of the most pricey candidates touted with a move to Liverpool in the early stages of this Summer was Uruguayan superstar striker Nunez. His standout campaign for Benfica that earned him the Portuguese Primeira Liga golden boot turned a lot of heads and gave way to Liverpool’s £85 million deal for the 22-year-old earlier this month. Nunez is one of the most coveted centre-forwards in Europe, having emerged as the shining light of Benfica’s attack over the past two seasons. He proved that over two outings against Liverpool in the Champions League. Whether Nunez would suit the Reds’ possession-heavy style of play is not clear as of yet, but given the right time and nurturing under Klopp’s instruction he is only going to get better. Only time will tell if any of these candidates will adequately fill Mane’s boots but the early indication is that Klopp’s men will be well-positioned to do so come the start of next season.

Will Liverpool go one further?

Liverpool ended last season just one point behind Manchester City and were cruelly denied another Premier League crown courtesy of a late fightback by the eventual champions against Villa at the Etihad. They were incredibly unlucky not to win the title on 92 points, as since the Premier League came into being in 1992, that tally would have been enough in 24 of the 30 campaigns to clinch the title. Jurgen Klopp’s side did not finish last season empty-handed however winning both the EFL Cup and FA Cup with the Merseyside club also reaching the Champions League final. City are only getting stronger though as they add Erling Haaland to their squad and with it almost guaranteeing a significantly more potent goal threat. Furthermore, the incentive of becoming only the second team to win three consecutive Premier League titles will have Pep Guardiola’s side more motivated than ever. If Liverpool continues to be as dominant as they were last season at home, they are going to have an excellent chance of winning their second title in four years but in the absence of Mane’s attacking threat, the likes of Jota, Diaz and Nunez will have to be firing on all cylinders to keep up with seemingly indomitable City.

x