Jamie Carragher has written in The Telegraph that he was wrong about Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, and has suggested that Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea could make a move for him in the summer transfer window.
The former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit has admitted that he was wrong to say that Mane was too expensive when the Reds signed him from Premier League rivals Southampton in the summer of 2016.
BBC Sport reported at the time that Liverpool had paid £34 million for the Senegal international forward.
Carragher has admitted that he was wrong to question the signing of Mane at the time, and has suggested that Chelsea could make a move for the 30-year-old in the summer transfer window.
Jamie Carragher on Liverpool forward Sadio Mane
The Englishman wrote about Mane in The Telegraph: “When Mane joined Liverpool in June, 2016, I gave my immediate verdict on the deal via social media. ‘I think £30 million is expensive,’ I wrote.
“That tweet has not aged well. Neither have many of the responses agreeing with it. There was a consensus that Mane was overpriced. His fee from Southampton was widely reported to be £37m.
“When I spoke to Liverpool’s chief executive at the time, Ian Ayre, he was keen to stress the cost was nearer £32m. The distinction was important because the higher figure would have made Mane Liverpool’s most expensive ever signing, and many recent record Anfield purchases such as Christian Benteke and Andy Carroll had failed to live up to their price tag. It shows how unsure I was about how good Mane was that the cost of the deal was concerning.”
Carragher added: “Will Chelsea even be monitoring Mane’s situation and thinking: ‘If Liverpool can’t afford to pay him what he wants to sign another deal, we might as well join the long queue for his signature?’
“That sounds unrealistic, but when it was suggested Bayern Munich were interested in signing Mane this summer, my first reaction was ‘what club in the world wouldn’t be?’”
World-class player
In our opinion, Mane is a world-class player who has been superb for Liverpool over the years.
Much is made about Mohamed Salah and his numbers at Liverpool, but we cannot undermine what Mane is doing for the Reds.
The 30-year-old has shown that he can play on the left, on the right and down the middle with equal impact.
We think that Mane is a gem, and that the £34 million that Liverpool reportedly paid for him has proved to be money well spent.
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