Peter Krawietz has admitted Liverpool were surprised by just how good Sadio Mane has proven to be since he joined from Southampton in 2016.
Jurgen Klopp’s assistant coach has been speaking with Liverpoolfc.com to reflect on Mane’s five-year spell on Merseyside. The Reds paid £34m rising to £36m to bring the Senegalese forward to Anfield after two years at St Mary’s.
The Saints made a minimum £24m profit on Mane, but Krawietz would argue it was money well spent by Liverpool. He has scored 97 goals and offered 44 assists in 218 appearances across all competitions since making his Reds debut.
Mane has also helped Liverpool win the Premier League and Champions League during his time at the club. Yet Krawietz admits he and the Anfield outfit were surprised by how good the £100,000-per-week winger has been.
“We followed his development at Southampton, and he performed already on this higher level, in the Premier League,” Krawietz said. “This was, in the end, a no-brainer opportunity to bring this player to our squad. That was one of our golden decisions, I would say.
“This was our first impression and as we saw over the last five years, with what an amazing player Sadio is, we were absolutely right with our first impression. And, at the same time, we were surprised with how well he developed during his time in Liverpool.
“We were really, really excited about him because his qualities are unique. Sadio is a player with every, every, every possibility in attacking: his one-v-one skills, his speed, left or right, his finishing. His ability to score goals with his head as well is unbelievable.”
Krawietz knows Liverpool hit gold in Mane deal
Krawietz is absolutely right to laud Liverpool for hitting gold in bringing Mane to Merseyside five years ago. The former Southampton star has been a sensation throughout his time at Anfield and was pivotal to their title success.
Cesc Fabregas was one of Mane’s many admirers early last season when he dubbed the Liverpool winger the ‘best player in the [Premier] League’. Jamie Carragher also told Sky Sports he’s ‘one of the top left-sided attacking players in world football’.
And, like Krawietz notes, Mane has scored any type of goal and been able to carry Liverpool if needed. The 75-cap forward’s performances were not always at the same heights as in 2019/20 last season, but remains a key player for Klopp and will have a big role next term.
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