It is 26 years since Sir Alex Ferguson took a sledgehammer to a Manchester United side that had won two Premier League titles in three seasons, selling Andrei Kanchelskis to Everton, Paul Ince to Inter and Mark Hughes to Chelsea while duping Alan Hansen into one of the worst hot-takes in British football history.
“Some people might say it’s ruthless but it’s about loyalty to the club,” Sir Alex would tell Sky Sports.
“I’m their manager, employed by (the club), and it’s up to me to make sure Manchester United remains the best team.”
Just one year after Kanchelskis, Ince and Hughes were shown the door, red ribbons had returned to the Premier League trophy, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were household names, and Hansen was debating whether to have ice cream with his humble pie.
And while no-one is suggesting Jurgen Klopp should cash in on Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk next summer, there’s a lesson to be learned from a man less popular in Liverpool than a Sun newspaper seller.
Moussa Diaby on Liverpool’s radar as Sadio Mane era nears its end
There comes a time in a manager’s life when he must put loyalty aside and consider the long-term benefits of his club.
And when you consider eight of the players who started Liverpool’s 2018 Champions League meeting with Porto are still at the club as the Reds ran riot at the Estadio do Dragao again – perhaps it’s time Klopp considered a changing of the guard himself?
Gini Wijnaldum has already gone, superseded by the fresh-faced Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, while Roberto Firmino, since the £40 million addition of Diogo Jota, is no longer a guaranteed starter either.
It might now be Sadio Mane’s turn to glance nervously over his shoulder.
Two years ago, Lionel Messi admitted Mane had a right to be disappointed with his fourth-place finish in the 2019 Ballon D’Or awards.
Flash forward to autumn 2021 and the Senegal international is still struggling to recapture the form that made him arguably the Premier League’s most feared forward.
And while form is temporary, the march of time is relentless. Mane turns 30 in April.
According to Voetbal International, Liverpool scouted Arnaut Danjuma during Villarreal’s Champions League clash at Manchester United last night, identifying the dazzling Dutchman – who tortured Diogo Dalot throughout – as a potential Mane replacement.
Jeremy Doku has returned to the gossip columns too, while Liverpool also expressed an interest in Kamaldeen Sulemana in the summer.
Now, according to Calciomercato, Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby has played his way on to the radar.
Four players under 24 who play in the same left-wing role Mane has made his own at Anfield.
Coincidence? Or is a new cycle in the offing at Liverpool?
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