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Is it Sadio Mane’s job to fill Philippe Coutinho’s boots at Liverpool?
The Philippe Coutinho transfer saga rumbles on but there seems to be an air of inevitability to his exit, not so much ‘if’ he goes to Barcelona, but ‘when’.
Barcelona’s interest in the Brazilian is well known and the player himself has expressed a desire to leave the Merseyside club for Barca, having handed in a transfer request. Whether it be this window or next, there will be a huge void left in the when Phillipe Coutinho does leave the Anfield outfit.
Now, the Brazilian has said that he is willing to sit in the stands for the remainder of the season if his transfer is not sanctioned. have reported that Coutinho will even sacrifice his World Cup place with his native Brazil.
Yet, for all Liverpool might lose if their star man leaves, they don’t have far to look for a replacement.
Sadio Mane is a player who has really put a stamp on the Premier League since he arrived at Southampton in 2014, but the Senegalese star has gone to another level since moving to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds.
The 25-year-old’s speed and directness is crucial to Liverpool and the way they play, and there are few better players in world football at contributing goals and assists from wide areas.
Last season Mane and Coutinho scored the same amount of goals, thirteen, and assisted five and seven, respectively.
It is worth noting, however, that Mane achieved these statistics in significantly fewer games than his Brazilian teammate, as he spent time with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations, before having his season cut short by a knee ligament injury.
The Reds also struggled when the former Southampton star was missing. No one else in their squad had the raw pace to go past their opponent like Mane does. As a consequence, when he left on international duty, Klopp’s side suffered a significant dip in form.
With the arrival of Mohamed Salah, in many ways a similar player to Mane, the Senegalese man has had to make a shift to left-wing, a position that was occupied for a majority of the season by Philippe Coutinho.
However, it is a role not alien to the ex-Southampton man, having played there for the Saints as well as Austrian club Salzburg.
In Mane, Liverpool have a player not only able to fulfil the same role Coutinho did in Klopp’s side, but he can also take on the creative and goal-scoring responsibilities. In the first two games of the season, Mane’s pace on the left, paired with the equally quick Mohamed Salah, has stretched opposition defences.
Losing Coutinho would be damaging to any club, but the Reds’ could well be in a better position than many might think when he finally moves on.