Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Paul Merson has been discussing Liverpool and their decision to sell Sadio Mane this summer.
The Senegalese forward joined Bayern Munich after the Champions League final, and it may not be a coincidence that Mane’s departure has coincided with a drop in form for the Reds.
Jermaine Jenas said earlier this week that selling Mane was the biggest mistake Liverpool have ever made, while Merson has now claimed that it’s the worst piece of business the Reds have ever done.
Merson on Mane
The pundit gave his verdict on the decision to sell Mane.
“I’ve said it from day one, in my opinion, selling Sadio Mane was the worst business ever. The bloke scores big, big goals. Go through them, first goals, equalisers, winning goals in last minutes, big goals,” Merson wrote.
“Their problems at the back start from the front. They’re not closing down as a unit – you can go on about how talented that front three was, but they closed down from the front. It only took one more pass, and they’d score.
“Now they don’t – so teams get through that press, if there is one, then they’re into a midfield three which isn’t the best in the country, and then you’re running at the back four.”
Backfired
The decision to sell Sadio Mane has backfired from Liverpool’s perspective, but, in all honesty, it didn’t seem like the worst call at the time.
Luis Diaz had already arrived as Mane’s replacement on the left wing, while Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez looked as though they could be trusted to fill the gap left by the Senegalese star.
However, it’s not quite worked out like that for Liverpool, their form has dipped and they’re seemingly already out of this season’s title race.
Letting Mane go looks to have been a poor call from the Merseyside club.
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