Joleon Lescott has warned Sadio Mane's departure will be a 'huge loss' for Liverpool this season as they battle it out with Manchester City for the Premier League title once again.
The Reds were beaten to the honours by just a single point last term after a dramatic final day. This time, they'll have to fight without Mane, who spent six years at the club before he left for Bayern Munich earlier in the window.
Despite some key additions to the squad in Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay, Lescott says it will be 'more difficult' for Jurgen Klopp's side to win the title this season.
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“I think you should be favourites if you are the reigning champions but also I think they’ve added to the squad with some quality," he told the PA News Agency. “I think it’s going to be slightly more difficult for Liverpool. I know they’ve signed Nunez, but without Mane, they can’t be as strong.
“The same could be said about Manchester City losing Raheem, but in regards to Liverpool losing Mane I think that’s a huge loss.
Manchester City themselves have recruited well with Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips - Julian Alvarez has also officially joined after he was loaned back to River Plate for the second-half of last season. However, they've also had a number of departures with Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
“City will miss them as personalities, 100 per cent," Lescott added. "But I think if you look back and view Man City the team, the style and how they play, I think Pep has created a system that isn’t reliant on any individual.
“So it’s probably not as damaging (on the field) as the impact in the dressing room. They’ll all be missed for that reason but players move on.”
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