Phil Thompson feels that Mamadou Sakho was Liverpool’s best defender and Jurgen Klopp should have done more to keep him.
Liverpool legend Phil Thompson had told the Echo that Jurgen Klopp made a mistake in outcasting Mamadou Sakho.
Klopp sanctioned the Frenchman’s sale to Crystal Palace this summer after a fallout during Liverpool’s 2016-17 pre-season.
According to The Guardian, Klopp sent Sakho home from a tour of the United States for showing a lack of respect, and then exiled him from the first-team fold.
In an interview with the Echo, Thompson stated his belief that Sakho was Liverpool’s best defender and could have been reintegrated into the squad by Klopp.
“I still believe we sold our best defender in the summer when Mamadou Sakho went to Crystal Palace,” Thompson said in the Echo.
“He was a warrior and a fighter. People say he looked ungainly but you knew what you got with him. I know there were issues off the field with Sakho and the manager took him out of the first team set-up.
“I was always a disciplinarian. It was one of the reasons why I was brought back into the football club by Gerard Houllier. But three months is plenty to isolate someone.”
Since Sakho’s departure, Liverpool’s defensive frailties have gone from bad to worse.
They conceded four against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend to become the Premier League’s leakiest travellers.
Palace are rock bottom of the table, but Sakho’s arrival on loan last season helped the Eagles secure Premier League survival, as they kept four clean sheets in his eight appearances.
Sakho had his own flaws, but it is difficult to disagree with Thompson that Liverpool’s backline is worse off without him.
And the three-time European Cup winner knows a thing or two about defending.
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