After six glorious seasons at Anfield, Sadio Mane has had his departure confirmed and the Senegal international has bid farewell to the Liverpool faithful who so regularly chanted his name.
From next season onwards, Mane will don another red shirt in the form of Bayern Munich's and while his exit is certainly going to sadden the Liverpool fanbase - they can take comfort in the fact there is £100million attacker waiting in the wings to announce himself ahead of the new season in Darwin Nunez.
The 22-year-old was purchased for a club-record fee from Portuguese outfit Benfica after a stellar campaign last term that saw him bag two goals in either leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash against Liverpool, clearly capturing Jurgen Klopp's attention.
There are clear differences between the way Mane and Nunez operate, but it must be noted that the latter does also enjoy darting runs off the left flank before cutting in to deliver a decisive finish. The young Uruguayan's goal at Anfield came after a rapid dash on the left-side before opening up his body to strike with the inside of his deadly right-foot.
Reds legend John Barnes has discussed Mane's exit alongside Nunez arrival and where the two differ, telling Sky Sports: "It'll be disappointing to see him [Mane] leave as the club did all they could to keep him but they couldn't be held to ransom over paying him what he wanted.
"Liverpool have already brought in Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, so what bringing in Darwin Nunez should change is it will give Liverpool more a threat within the penalty box.
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"We’re a very good team on the counter-attack with space in behind, but every now and then when teams defend deep and in numbers, we’ve not had that big presence in the box which is what Nunez will give us."
Barnes' assessment of Liverpool's new forward is correct, with Nunez operating predominantly inside the penalty area. He notched 34 goals across all competitions for the Portuguese giants, with 32 of them coming inside the 18-yard box.
Better yet, 80% of Nunez' goals come from within the area between the goal-line and the penalty spot and within the width of the six-yard box. Nunez has shown more than enough potential to become one of the football's most lethal poachers.
Barnes went on to highlight how Nunez's aerial ability will also provide Liverpool with the ability to play a different kind of attacking set-up, something that wasn't possible with Mane in the side.
