Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has suggested the Reds may struggle without the presence of Sadio Mane in their side.
The Senegalese international joined Liverpool for £34 million from Southampton in 2016 and had an immensely successful career on Merseyside.
Mane scored 120 goals in 269 games for the club and was a crucial player in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
He went on to win the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his time at the club.
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However the 30 year-old believed it was time for a new challenge and completed a £35.1 million move to German champions, Bayern Munich.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Carragher had this to say about Liverpool’s future without Mane:
“When you lose someone like Mane, who has been so pivotal for four or five years, and you’re bringing in a sort of unknown quantity in Nunez.”
“He looks a top player and has great pedigree — and Liverpool did need to bring the average age of that front-three down."
"It’s difficult to say they look stronger right now, considering how good Mane was, certainly in the second half of last season"
“But also I’m really excited to see how they evolve with Nunez. It’s interesting to see the change of the dynamics of the team and, if it makes Liverpool better, then who knows?”
Liverpool recently completed the signing of Darwin Nunez from Benfica in a deal that could rise up to £85 million.
The Reds will be hoping Nunez can fill the void left by Mane, but reaching his world class level of output will not be an easy task.
The Uruguayan international hit 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica last season so it’s clear the natural goalscoring instinct is there, but whether he can hit those numbers in the Premier League is a totally different challenge.
After a shaky start to preseason, Nunez looked sharp in his last outing for the Reds, scoring 4 goals against RB Leipzig.
With four goals under his belt, Nunez is expected to keep improving in a Liverpool shirt and if his last performance is anything to go by, the sky’s the limit for the Uruguayan international.
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Liverpool
Will Beaman