“I told him”: Manager demands more from 30-year-old after Liverpool exit

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Back in June, Liverpool allowed Sadio Mane to leave for Bayern Munich in a £35m deal, where he would be tasked with replacing the prolific Robert Lewandowski.

So far, the Senegal international has done well at the Allianz Arena with five goals in nine games.

However, Julian Nagelsmann – his boss at Bayern Munich – wants more from Mane in one department, something he never really had to show at Liverpool.

What’s the story?

Well, the German wants the 30-year-old to be “more arrogant” out on the pitch – something Liverpool fans will know the Senegalese forward won’t enjoy doing.

As quoted by Kicker, Nagelsmann said: “I told him that he could have more self-confidence and more confidence in his abilities as a leader. Of course, we don’t have much time. If everyone starts to see for six months what we can and can’t do, a lot of the games will already be over. So, he’s welcome to be even more self-confident and a bit, how shall I say, act positively more arrogant.”

Throughout his six-year stay at Anfield, Mane was often the figure of humbleness, and was allowed to somewhat take a step out of the spotlight thanks to Mohamed Salah hogging the limelight.

Now, however, the Bayern Munich No.17 must do something he’s never done before in his career and step into the shoes of a great – Lewandowski.

His lack of arrogance certainly isn’t having a negative impact on his goalscoring form, although it’s clear to see that Nagelsmann wants his £35m signing to have more stature and presence out on the pitch.

Liverpool need Darwin Nunez to watch Sadio Mane

Instead of repeating the tiring narrative that Liverpool miss Mane and shouldn’t have sold him, let’s explore an alternative viewpoint.

In our view, Liverpool got the best from Mane, and sold him for a good price at the right time, while replacing him swiftly with the signing of Darwin Nunez.

However, people are only regurgitating the aforementioned narrative because the Uruguay international has not stepped up to the plate like Mane so often did.

Despite lacking the pace of his predecessor, Nunez must study how the Liverpool icon performed under Jürgen Klopp in terms of movement, and attempt to replicate it in order to strike up partnerships with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and others.