Paul Merson says that he is “worried for Liverpool” after the departure of Sadio Mane.
Last week it was confirmed that Mane had left the Reds after six years at Anfield to join Bayern Munich. Liverpool agreed a £35m deal with the Bundesliga giants for the Senegal international, who had one year left on his contract.
Before the legendary forward's exit, Jurgen Klopp moved to bring Darwin Nunez in from Benfica for a fee that could reach a club record £85m. But despite effectively replacing Mane, former Arsenal star and Sky Sports pundit Merson is concerned.
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“Massive miss, massive,” said Merson, when asked how Mane’s exit will affect the Reds. "I worry for Liverpool because they’ve got an unbelievable manager, but people forget Mane was a big game player.
“Big game player who scored big goals in football matches. It wasn’t the third, fourth, fifth in a 5-0 win, it was the winning goal, the goal that took the lead or the equaliser - they’re the goals I look out for.
“I don’t look for [if] he got a hat-trick but got the fourth, fifth, and sixth in a 7-1 win - for me they’re nothing goals. He got big football goals and this lad Nunez has got to hit the ground running like (Luis) Diaz and this doesn’t happen in the Premier League.”
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