James Pearce of The Athletic has been discussing Sadio Mane and his influence on the Liverpool side during a recent episode of The Red Agenda podcast.
Jurgen Klopp’s side recently suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Aston Villa in the Premier League, conceding seven goals for the first time since 1963 (as per BBC Sport).
In that fixture, they were without Sadio Mane, a player who has already contributed three goals in three league appearances this season (as per Transfermarkt), and Pearce believes the Senegalese winger was a huge miss and has become one of the club’s most influential players. Here is what he had to say:
“We’ve said before, haven’t we, just how much he’s grown in stature over the last couple of seasons, to the point where he is rightly discussed alongside probably [Virgil] Van Dijk and Mo Salah as Liverpool’s most influential performer.
“When I did that chat with Andy Robertson the other week, he was singing his praises, not only in terms of what he gives Liverpool in terms of attacking-wise in the final third, but that bite and energy and work-rate.”
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It’s clear from the journalist’s comments exactly how much influence he believes the 28-year-old has over the team. Mane joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 in a deal reportedly worth £37.08m (as per Transfermarkt) and since his arrival, he has scored an impressive 84 goals in 174 appearances.
Given that in Pearce’s view, Mane was such a miss on Sunday having been in self-isolation, we can assume the fans will be desperate to see him back in action sooner rather than later.