Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy ‘cannot see’ Sadio Mane returning to the Premier League giant after a frustrating Bundesliga spell at Bayern Munich.
You may recall that, when attempting to lure the Senegal international to the Allianz Arena last summer, Bayern put forward a deal that would have seen Liverpool earn a further £6.5 million should Mane win the Ballon D’Or in each of his three seasons in Bavaria (The Times).
These days, 2022’s runner-up would fortunate to even be included on the shortlist. Let alone win the thing.
Sadio Mane looks a shadow of the player who epitomised Jurgen Klopp’s heavy-metal football at Anfield; those face-melting solos a thing of the past and his strings badly out of tune.
He’s scored only once since October.
Sky Germany report that Bayern – who also had to cope with a well-publicised off-field ‘dispute’ with team-mate Leroy Sane – are now likely to cut their losses on a 31-year-old who is not even 12 months into his three-year contract.
Could Liverpool bring Sadio Mane back from Bayern Munich?
But, when the prospect of an emotional return to Merseyside was brought up, Murphy told talkSPORT that – while some would welcome him back with open arms – Liverpool cannot afford to hark back to a glorious past when their future remains uncertain.
“Well, I think the fans would (have Mane back),” Murphy explains (17 May, 11am).
“But you would have to get rid of someone first. They’ve got five or six forwards. That’s a huge chunk if their budget on a player they don’t need. They need midfielders.
“So I cannot see it.”
Liverpool may have fallen some way short of their previously sky-high standards at times this season but a lack of goals is not the problem. Only Arsenal and Manchester City have scored more than their 70 in the Premier League.
“When are we getting to the point where we admit that Sadio Mane was what the Germans call ein Fehlkauf? ‘A wrong transaction’. A ‘wrong purchase’. We are getting to that point now,” Bundesliga reporter Manuel Veth tells the Gegenpressing podcast.
Mane, Veth adds, is starting to feel eerily reminiscent of Timo Werner in Chelsea blue. All misstimed runs and missplaced finishes.
“Do you know what he reminds me of? He is like the Premier League, reverse-Timo Werner,” Veth adds. “His runs always seem to be off. His chance conversation is terrible.
“If this doesn’t work out – he’s going to turn 32 next year – what is his future going to look like?”
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