“I have just one question. How long do you think you can live here?” An innocuous enough query, made to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, but one that would quickly open the door to the swift, public unravelling of one £18m signing’s Anfield career.
It was the summer of 2016 and Klopp was heading into his first full season as Reds manager. With Liverpool taking part in that year’s International Champions Cup, their pre-season preparations had taken them to the United States where they would face Chelsea in Pasadena and AC Milan in Santa Clara.
Yet on the eve of their clash with the Londoners, taking place in the early hours of July 28 for those watching back in the UK, Klopp had banished one of his players back to Merseyside. As Brad Smith caught an overnight flight back to Heathrow, landing on July 26, ahead of undergoing a medical before completing a £6m move to AFC Bournemouth, he was surprisingly joined by defender Mamadou Sakho.
