Chelsea star Edouard Mendy reckons the loss of Sadio Mane at Liverpool will have a "huge impact" ahead of the new season.
The Reds lost the Senegal international to Bayern Munich after he told them that he would not sign a new contract and was hoping for a fresh challenge. Though Jurgen Klopp did not want the forward to leave, a deal was agreed with the Bundesliga giants in the region of around £35million.
Darwin Nunez had already been brought in as a replacement from Benfica in a club-record transfer worth £85m but the 22-year-old might need some time to acclimatise to the Premier League. And in a division where tiny margins can make a massive difference, some believe that Liverpool might have shot themselves in the foot.
That includes at Chelsea, where Mendy knows all about Mane from the national team and he reckons that their Premier League rivals might suffer without the striker's services. “I think it is a big loss for the Premier League in terms of quality and in terms of the person," Mendy said on tour in the United States with the Blues.
“We’ve lost someone great and I hope for him he will enjoy the Bundesliga.
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“He’s also a big loss [to Liverpool] because of his quality, the impact he makes and also because, for the young players, he’s an example. When you lose someone like this it can have a huge impact.”
Mendy is not the only one to think that way with Klopp also gutted to lose one of his best players to Bayern Munich. Liverpool missed out on the Premier League and Champions League last season after finishing runners-up in both competitions and the departure of Mane will only hamper their efforts without his goals.
Klopp said: "Sadio, what can we say about Sadio, hey? What a player. A world-class player. We knew, he told us, his agent told us, they wanted to leave, they wanted to have a new challenge, find a new club."
"[It’s] never easy negotiations – it’s all good until we talk about money, but that worked then really well.”
WHile Liverpool have lost a key part of their squad, their Premier League rivals have only strengthened after City signed Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez. The former Borussia Dortmund star has arguably been the biggest transfer of the summer so far and all eyes will be on the Norwegian to see how he adapts to English football.
Whereas Alvarez has come with less pedigree, the Argentine has been tipped to become the new Sergio Aguero at the Etihad and could form a deadly partnership with Haaland on top. Raheem Sterling has left for Chelsea, to bolster their ranks, while Gabriel Jesus signed for Arsenal.
