‘Completely and utterly AWOL’: Liverpool legend baffled by Sadio Mane at Bayern Munich

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Stevie Nicol is unsure about where former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane will go next following his disastrous debut season spell at Bayern Munich.

When Sadio Mane left Liverpool last summer for £35 million (Sky Sports), many thought that the Reds were in deep trouble because they were going to lose such an important cog of their wheel.

But Liverpool legend Stevie Nicol thinks that the Africa Cup of Nations star has gone ‘completely and utterly AWOL’ during his time at Bayern Munich, as he told ESPN.

From that infamous fight with Leroy Sane to playing only nine minutes during the last three Bundesliga games, including not even coming off the bench for the last game of the season where Thomas Tuchel’s side needed a win to win the title.

It needs to be noted that the 31-year-old didn’t leave Anfield under a dark cloud, but on the back of winning a domestic double, narrowly missing out on four trophies and after helping Senegal become champions of Africa.

He was hitting the right notes and no-one was stopping him, until he landed in Munich, as Nicol was asked where he could see Mane going next.

“I thought Bayern Munich was the perfect fit for him,” said Nicol. “But clearly something has gone completely and utterly AWOL there.

“A team that plays with three up front (would suit Mane best) that he can sit on the left-hand side and get after it and get plenty of the ball.

“But then, it’s kind of what Bayern Munich did, right?! So, I would suggest that there was something wrong at Bayern, whether it was the make-up of the players or he didn’t get on with the other players because of the way they set-up, it was pretty much the way Liverpool did, to be fair.”

Will Mane make Premier League return?

There have been some who have questioned if Mane should return to Liverpool, Danny Murphy shared a pretty blunt verdict on that talk.

But what about elsewhere in England’s top-flight? A certain Newcastle United are looking for goalscoring wide men and they have Champions League football to offer.

Ally McCoist shared his own thoughts on a possible move to St James’ Park happening, with the all-action forward now in limbo and in need of having to make a big transfer call this summer.