Liverpool may well be on the up once again after a substandard year last time out, but Jurgen Klopp‘s side have recrafted their success with a very different feel to the side that achieved such illustrious success since the German’s appointment in 2015.
Indeed, after falling flat and finishing fifth in the Premier League last term, Klopp and co decided to shake things up and revamped the midfield, something that was long overdue.
An exciting crop of talented players have replaced the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho and co, and the early results from the 2023/24 campaign suggest that the Anfield narrative will be far more favourable this time around, with three successive victories following a draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to start the season.
The midfield rebuild might have dominated the discourse this year, but over the past few years, Klopp has been reconstructing a frontline that was once considered irreplaceable, and while the legendary trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will never be topped, the new-look attack has every chance of being world-class as it continues to gel.
When did Liverpool sign Sadio Mane?
Salah, of course, still plies his trade for the Merseyside outfit today, while Firmino, one of the silkiest, ingenious forwards of his generation, departed at the end of his contract this summer.
Mane was the first to break away, leaving one year ago, but will forever be remembered for his “electric” pace – as hailed by football writer Leanne Prescott – and incisiveness on the left wing of Liverpool’s offence.
Heralded as “absolutely insane” by his former Liverpool manager, Mane was one of the pioneers for Klopp’s Liverpool, completing a £34m transfer from Premier League rivals Southampton in June 2016, with his new boss revealing he had been tracking his progress for four years.
Mane, who diligent Saints had sealed from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg for £10m two years earlier, had posted 25 goals and 14 assists for the south coast club across his two campaigns, including a record-breaking fastest hat-trick in Premier League history against Aston Villa.
It was an exciting acquisition of a talented, Prem-proven star, and while all could see the potential that the Senegalese winger held, few envisaged the blistering rise to the top at one of English football’s all-time great frontlines.
How good was Sadio Mane at Liverpool?
Leaving Liverpool in a deal worth up to £35m in June 2022, Mane drew the curtain on an illustrious Anfield career that saw silver-laden success across a wealth of competitions, notably the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Scoring 120 goals and supplying 48 assists across 269 outings, the 97-cap Senegal star’s dynamism, rapier-like attacking qualities and demonic speed proved invaluable to Klopp’s system, with Mane hitting 40 goals in the English top flight alone between 2019-2021.
|
Highest scoring Liverpool players in CL |
Goals scored |
|---|---|
|
Mohamed Salah |
41 |
|
Sadio Mane |
24 |
|
Roberto Firmino |
22 |
|
Steven Gerrard |
21 |
|
Luis Garcia |
10 |
Statistics sourced via Statbunker
A big game player, Mane was simply integral, and will forever remain so distinctive, so awe-inspiring, that seeking to directly replace him would be futile.
That being said, Luis Diaz was signed from Portuguese giants Porto for an initial £37m in January 2022 – six months before Mane left – to serve as the heir, but the Colombian is a distinctive personality on the pitch himself, with his arrival a continuation of the outfit’s fluidity, rather than a like-for-like replacement.
Throw Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo into the pot, and Liverpool do indeed boast a reformed frontline, and while Mane’s departure will always remain a poignant day, it is pleasing to see the work on the transfer front has been apt enough to maintain the ferocity up front.
As said, Mane cannot be replaced, but there could be the next version of the wide forward already on the club’s books, with exciting youth prospect Trent Kone-Doherty continuing to impress within the academy fold as he targets a first-team debut sooner rather than later.
Who is Trent Kone-Doherty?
Hailed for his “superb” early performances by journalist Paul Gorst, Kone-Doherty is a precocious forward looking to make waves among Liverpool’s senior side in the near future.
The 17-year-old has made a prolific start to life at Liverpool, scoring 12 goals and supplying three assists from 23 matches across all competitions, and he will be hoping that this is the year he makes his senior debut, with the Europa League opening the door for the likes of the Republic of Ireland youth international to earn opportunities to impress.
Giving his thoughts on the youngster’s quality to the Liverpool Echo, U18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson said: “He’s a very good player and showed he can finish, he can go on the outside, and whether or not he’s up against people who are bigger or a lot stronger, he still has the ability and football brain to go past people.”
Such characteristics are similar to Mane’s, who found success across the frontline and merged deadly finishing with deceptive strength and physicality.
He could even prove to be a bigger talent than Kaide Gordon, who has been a notable name among the Liverpool youth crop for several years now – immensely talented, but impeded by horrendous luck with injuries.
Indeed, the wily winger boasts some incredible ability for one so young, having scored 11 goals and provided five assists since joining from Derby County for around £3m in 2021, with his potential affirmed by Klopp, who dubbed him an “exceptional” talent.
He’s also bagged the first goal of his senior career for the Reds, and while he has been decimated by injuries over the past few years, the 18-year-old is now in contention for a return after 17 months out.
Describing himself as “fearless“, Kone-Doherty has started the current campaign in fine fettle, bagging two goals and an assist from his first three outings.
Noted as a ‘tricky and exciting winger blessed with great pace‘ by Liverpoolfc.com, the teenage prodigy looks to hold the natural prowess to emulate a renowned star of Mane’s ilk, while nurturing a growing clinicalness in front of goal, which could combine to create a weapon tailor-made for Klopp’s high-octane system.
Mane was equally unflappable in the offensive third, and given the semblance of skills and innate qualities, perhaps Liverpool do have a homegrown option to serve as the ideal Mane heir, wreaking havoc for the Anfield side for years to come.
