Player-turned-pundit Paul Merson reckons Liverpool’s decision to sell Sadio Mane in the summer has come back to bite them in their poor start to the season.
Mane, one of the most influential names in the Anfield fold since Jurgen Klopp took charge in 2015, called it quits with the Reds ahead of the 2022-23 campaign to join Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
His absence from the Liverpool side, however, has come amid Klopp’s men failing to hit their usual best on the pitch as they have claimed just one win from their opening seven Premier League games this campaign.
Liverpool brought in Benfica dangerman Darwin Nunez to bolster their front line for a potential club record fee only for the Uruguayan striker to endure a patchy run of form since his start to life at Anfield.
In his column for Sky Sports ( via The Daily Express), former Arsenal man Merson has said that Liverpool parting ways with Mane was the ‘worst’ transfer business in the summer window with the club’s marquee signing Darwin Nunez unable to replicate the former’s role on the team sheet.
“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.
“He led from the front with his closing down, and for me, what they sold him for, I just didn’t get it. Darwin Nunez isn’t in the same league at the moment. Not in the same league at all.
“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.
“To sell him for £30m-odd, which in the world of the Premier League is a cup of tea, wouldn’t they have been better off to keep him and let him go for free?” he queried.
“It’s come back to bite them and could cost them a lot more than £30m by the end of the season.”
