Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has hinted that Luis Diaz will be the main replacement for Sadio Mane this season.
The Colombian joined the Reds from FC Porto in January, and scored four goals in 13 appearances as Jurgen Klopp’s side won two domestic trophies.
His teammate, Fabinho, spoke to The Athletic about his time with the Reds so far, and how he tried to convince Mane to stay before his move to Bayern Munich.
“At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave,” he says.
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“I was always saying to him, ‘Come on Sadio, stay here. You can win the Premier League and the Champions League right here, don’t leave’."
"But I think he had already made his mind up. We had to respect that."
“Sadio had a really good story in a Liverpool shirt. He played for six years here and during that time he won everything you can win and he decided that he wanted a new challenge. That’s OK.
“For a long time it was always Sadio on the left side. But we have Luis (Diaz) on the left side and we saw how well he played in the second half of last season."
"Luis will become increasingly important.”
He settled in immediately under Jurgen Klopp, who is known for usually giving players a grace period before they get used to the system.
Diaz was key for Porto before moving to Liverpool too, scoring 26 goals in 77 appearances.
However, he will need to improve this side of his game if he is to replace Mane, as the Senegalese international struck 120 times in 269 outings for the Reds.
Topics: Liverpool, Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane, Fabinho
Chris Stonadge