Jurgen Klopp may have a bigger talent than Kaide Gordon rising through the ranks…
After a disappointing season last time out, Liverpool may be back on the rise, but Jurgen Klopp’s team has recrafted their success with a totally different vibe from the group that had such legendary success prior to the German’s hiring in 2015.
In fact, Klopp and company opted to change things up and overhaul the midfield after the team struggled and finished fifth in the Premier League the previous season, which 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.
Rebuilding the midfield may have been the most talked about topic this year, but over the past few years Klopp has rebuilt a front line once considered irreplaceable, and despite the legendary Roberto trio Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will never be conquered, but the new look will never be conquered. the attack has every chance of becoming world-class as it continues to materialize.
When did Liverpool sign Sadio Mané?
Of course, Salah is still playing for the Merseyside side to this day, while Firmino, one of the most mercurial and resourceful strikers of his generation, left when his contract ran out this summer .
Mané was the first to escape, leaving a year ago, but will forever be remembered for his “electric” pace – as football journalist Leanne Prescott praised – and his sharpness on the left wing in Liverpool’s attack.
Mane, who was dubbed “absolutely insane” by his former Liverpool manager, was one of Klopp’s Liverpool’s early adopters, completing a £34 million signing from Premier League opponent Southampton in June 2016. His new manager revealed he had been keeping tabs on Mane’s development for four years.
Mane, who tenacious Saints had acquired for £10 million two years previously from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, had scored 25 goals and provided 14 assists for the south coast club over the course of his two seasons, including the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history against Aston Villa.
While everyone could see the Senegalese winger’s potential, few could have predicted his meteoric journey to the top at one of English football’s greatest frontlines. It was an exciting purchase of a gifted, Prem-proven star.
At Liverpool, how excellent was Sadio Mane?
Mane ended his illustrious Anfield career in June 2022 after leaving the club in a deal for up to £35 million. During his time at the club, Mane won numerous championships, including the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup.
The 97-cap Senegal star’s dynamism, rapier-like attacking skills, and demonic speed proved vital to Klopp’s system, with Mane scoring 40 goals in the English top tier alone between 2019 and 2021. He also provided 48 assists across 269 games.
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.
However, Luis Diaz was brought in from Porto, a Portuguese powerhouse, for an initial £37 million in January 2022, six months before Mane left, to act as the heir. However, the Colombian is a unique character on the pitch, and his arrival represents a continuation of the team’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 reported, Mane cannot be replaced, but there could be the next version of the striker already on the club’s books, with exciting young prospect Trent Kone-Doherty continuing to impress in the academy as he aims to make his first team debut sooner than expected. more later.
Who is Trent Kone-Doherty?
Praised by journalist Paul Gorst for his “fantastic” early performances, Kone-Doherty is a precocious striker and looks forward to making waves in Liverpool’s first team in the near future.
The 17-year-old has had a prolific start to life at Liverpool, scoring 12 goals and providing three assists in 23 appearances in all competitions, and he hopes this will be the year he makes his debut. high level, with the Europa League. opens up opportunities for young international players like the Republic of Ireland to have a chance to impress.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, head coach of the U18s, commented on the youngster’s talent to the Liverpool Echo, saying: “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 up against people who are bigger or a lot stronger, he still has the ability and football brain to go past people.”
These traits are comparable to Mane’s, who succeeded on the frontline by fusing deadly finishing with deceiving 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.
The crafty winger, who joined from Derby County for almost £3 million in 2021, does indeed possess some great talent for one so young. Klopp, who praised his potential, called him a “exceptional” talent.
While he has been decimated by injuries over the previous few years, the 18-year-old is now in contention for a return after 17 months away from the game. He has also scored the first goal of his professional career for the Reds.
Describing himself as “fearless”, Kone-Doherty has started the current season in good form, scoring two goals and an assist in his first three outings.
Labeled by Liverpoolfc.com as a “skillful and exciting winger with great pace”, the teenage prodigy appears to possess the natural ability needed to compete with a star as famous as Mane, while also nurturing a developing clinical side in front of goal, which could combine to create a weapon tailor-made for Klopp’s high-octane system.
Mane is also unfazed in the attacking third, and with his natural skills and qualities, Liverpool could have a local option to become Mane’s ideal successor, causing havoc for the team Anfield in the coming years.
