Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho is a popular figure but reports suggest Jurgen Klopp may be prepared to loan the player out.
Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho celebrate after Borussia Dortmund
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is considering let defender Mamadou Sakho leave on loan according to several reports, including one from the Daily Mail.
In the eyes of some Liverpool fans Sakho is one of the best defenders at the club, in the eyes of others he is something of a liability.
Reports have suggested that Klopp would like the Frenchman to get some regular game time in order to get his career back on track. Without doubt it has been a difficult period for the France international having not kicked a ball in anger since April when news broke that he was accused of failing a drugs test by UEFA. He was subsequently cleared.
Mamadou Sakho celebrates with manager Juergen Klopp after scoring the second goal for Liverpool
Prior to that he seemed to be playing some of his best football with an excellent display against Manchester United in the Europa League, his goalscoring intervention in the remarkable comeback against Borussia Dortmund and his latest appearance for the club in the Merseyside derby win over Everton as Liverpool took apart their neighbours.
Nevertheless, it has to be said that Sakho can have an error in him. A misplaced pass or sometimes being unable to control the ball when it seems easier to do the opposite and poor decision making is usually levelled at him from critics. In truth, those errors can be ironed out with some regular game time. It’s usually in the earlier stages after a return from either warming the bench, or in the treatment room that Sakho can look at his most vulnerable.
Liverpool’s Joel Matip in action with Mainz’s Jhon Cordoba
The Achilles injury and being sent home early from the club’s tour of the United States has done very little for Sakho in terms of preparing himself for the season. New signings of Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip have probably done little to guarantee Sakho would rekindle what was an unlikely partnership that had its element of stability alongside Dejan Lovren.
There are other qualities that Liverpool could be missing as well. There is that connection Sakho seems to have with the fans and the community surrounding the club that very few players seem to establish.
This doesn’t seem to be a case of Klopp not rating the defender, but an acknowledgement that he probably won’t be in his first XI. Though Liverpool haven’t started the season in the best way defensively – conceding five goals in their opening two games – maybe he wants to depart from defenders who have been around for the past three years where the side has conceded around 50 goals per league season.
Either way, if Sakho does depart before the transfer deadline on a temporary basis, it would seem like a big call from the Liverpool manager, and only time would tell if it’s a success.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp
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