Sadio Mane
By: Kevin Kemboi
Over the past 4 seasons Liverpool have been very huge menaces for clubs in both domestic and European competitions. From clinching the Premier league in the 2019/2020 season, a champions league, in an unforgettable tie with the great Barcelona in the 2018/2019 season to losing the highly coveted quadruple in the final day of this season, few would suggest that Liverpool should be alarmed and fans should be worried. The fans however have every reason to be worried that their dominance might be ending sooner than they thought.
1.Sadio Mane’s departure
Not most people would have foreseen what Mane has achieved so far in the game after his move from Southampton during the 2016/2017 season. To be honest the only word to describe his achievements is remarkable. Winning the title, the champions league, club world cup, UEFA super cup and recently the FA cup is not something that most professional football can say they have done.
With all news outlets indicating that this was indeed Sadio Mane’s last season as a red, this brings up the question, how do you replace a player who scored 120 goals and registered 48 assists in 269 appearances and averages at least 17 goals in a single premier league season?
Apart from his incredible goal scoring record, is his importance in Klopp’s system. The way the forwards are not only required to score goals but also press aggressively from the front which is also taxing to one’s body. Not many forwards in todays’ game have the work ethic that Sadio has, hence his uniqueness. With all sources saying his next team is Bayern Munich, one thing is for sure he will highly be missed.
2.An ageing squad
Liverpool have been known around to have incredible fitness levels just from their work ethic on and off the pitch. Their starting eleven is one of the most consistent ones around, but after this season fear has started to creep in some Liverpool fans about the ages of some of their most important players. We take a look at the ages of some of the important players; Mohammed Salah turns 30 in June, Robert Firmino is 30, Jordan Henderson is 31, Thiago Alcantara is 31, James Milner is 36, Alison is 29 and both Matip and Virgil Van Dijk are 30. Most footballers tend to decline at the age of 30, this should worry Liverpool fans because they also do not have an academy that produces incredible talent like La Masia or have the cash to splash like their rivals, Manchester City hence they need to be very careful and plan smartly to replace their important players with decent options. This however at the moment is not the case.
3.Mo Salah contract issues
Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah has been at the center of contract stand off speculation at Anfield. The cycle has never seemed to end. Entering the final year of his contract, Mohammed Salah confirmed to be staying at Liverpool, and at the age of 30 this means, this might be his last shot for a huge contract at Liverpool or this may be his last season as a Red.
Who blinks first? At this particular moment it is very difficult to predict, but one thing is for sure, the course which both parties have decided to take the contract renewal talks will drag a lot more than expected. This is very scary for Liverpool fans because after Sadio Mane declaring that this may be his last season at Liverpool and contract renewal talks between Mohammed Salah and club stalling for a while, this will basically mean that Liverpool may lose their most consistent and prolific goal scorers in a space of a year.
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