Klopp’s reliance on world-class Mane shows squad shortfall
Senegalese winger’s everpresent status in attack indicates Liverpool still lack strength in depth
The most important signing during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure as Liverpool manager? You could make a case for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk or Alisson, following the incremental improvement that has coincided with each of their arrivals, but I still maintain that the correct answer is Sadio Mane.
He was the first of the big signings under Klopp and it was his influence during that first full season for the manager in 2016-17, when he was the club’s joint top-scorer in the Premier League, that ensured Liverpool got back into the Champions League.
That was a huge catalyst when you then look at the development of this team and, without taking that first massive step forward, you would have to question whether Liverpool would have had the resources or such pulling power to attract the players who followed.
At £32million, Mane was also an absolute steal and the shrewdest piece of transfer work by Liverpool in their dealings with Southampton. Mane came in relatively early and quietly during a summer transfer window in 2016 that then spiralled to the extent that Manchester United ultimately paid almost £90million to recruit Paul Pogba.
It is not simply the timing of Mane’s arrival or value for money, though, that makes him so important. It has been the consistency of performances, especially in the past 12 months that means he genuinely now merits the description world-class.
So how do you define world-class’? I judge it by thinking about a fantasy world starting IX and whether any given player would either get straight into the team or at least be in the best two or three in the world in their position. As left-sided attackers, I would rate Mane, Raheem Sterling and Eden Hazard as currently the best, especially now that Cristiano Ronaldo has become more of a striker and with the struggles of Neymar since the World Cup.
I also think that Mane is Liverpool’s first genuinely world-class winger since John Barnes and the club’s best wide left player for almost 30 years.
That in itself is a big explanation for why Liverpool have never quite taken that final step in the Premier League. Look at the teams who win the title, and they invariably have players who can cause damage from the wide areas and are capable of 20 goals a season. I played with world-class players in almost every position at Liverpool, but never real world-class specialists in either the wide left or right areas. That is not to