When Liverpool signed Senegalese winger Sadio Mane from Southampton in the summer for £34million some people questioned his signing. Critics questioned if the winger was worth the money after an inconsistent end to last season with the Saints.
However, the winger has shone on Merseyside and has helped Liverpool to second in the Premier League table. Mane has scored nine times and produced four assists for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 19 Premier League appearances this season.
The 24-year-old has impressed, but his good run of form for Liverpool has been temporarily derailed by the fact that he has headed to the Africa Cup of Nations to play for his national side. Losing the winger is a blow for the Reds.
The Africa Cup of Nations will have a big effect on Premier League teams. Liverpool could have also lost centre-back Joel Matip, but in the end, Cameroon decided to leave him out of their squad to prevent any club versus country row.
Back to Mane, he is a player that offers something that none of the other Liverpool attacking midfielders possess. The likes of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana provide skill, guile, creativity and vision, but none of them can provide the blistering pace of Mane.
Mane can get a team up the pitch extremely fast, which is vital if a team is going to play a counter-attacking style, which at times Klopp employs to devastating effects. The winger has definitely added a new dimension to the Reds attack this season.
The 24-year-old will be missing for at least the next couple of weeks and possibility close to a month. In that time Liverpool’s title bid is unlikely to fall apart. However, the Reds could drop points that they would not have with Mane in their team, so his absence could well hamper their title chances.