Richard Keys believes Liverpool made a transfer blunder this summer, after Sadio Mane was allowed to leave Anfield instead of Mohamed Salah.
The Reds went into the transfer window following a season which saw them come desperately close to an unprecedented quadruple. However, after losing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City and the Champions League to Real Madrid, their campaign ended in relative disappointment.
Days before their defeat to Real in Paris, reports emerged that Mane was looking to leave the club, with just a year remaining on his current contract. The Senegal international - along with Salah and Roberto Firmino, were all due to be free agents in 12 months’ time.
Therefore, it was anticipated that at least one of Liverpool ’s fabled front-three would leave Liverpool, after enjoying great success under Jurgen Klopp. Ultimately, it was Mane who was granted his departure - joining Bayern Munich, with Salah ending speculation about his own future by signing a new long-term contract.
But after replacing Mane with Uruguayan ace Darwin Nunez, Klopp’s side have got off to an inconsistent start to the new campaign. Salah himself has also struggled for his regular form, finding the net just twice in Liverpool’s first six Premier League games.
And former Sky Sports anchor Richard Keys thinks Liverpool may have made the wrong decision in keeping Salah over Mane, regardless of the latter’s own inconsistencies with his new team.
“I can’t pretend that I’m a little surprised about Liverpool’s stuttering start,” Keys wrote in his latest blog post. “I’m sure it’ll come right, but they look tired.
“Salah is still way off and that’s got to be a concern for Klopp. I know they had to sell either Mane or Salah because both contracts were winding down, but at the moment it looks as if they sold the wrong one, despite Mane’s apparent difficulties in Munich.”
Mane got off to a fine start in a Bayern Munich shirt, but after scoring three in his first three Bundesliga games, he has failed to register since. The 30-year-old has also fired blanks in both Champions League matches, with manager Julian Nagelsmann admitting he will need time to adapt.
Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann also highlighted Mane’s disappointing form in Bavaria, believing he is currently being played out of position.
“He is not integrated,” he told GMX via Sport Witness. “I saw him at Liverpool FC, where he played through the middle. That is not his position. Now he’s taking that position at FC Bayern as well. He is at his best when he comes from the outside. He doesn’t look happy to me.
"Other players like Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala or, in defence, Lucas Hernandez, who is injured at the moment, are putting in outstanding performances. Nobody is talking about Mane at the moment. He seems isolated and hardly takes part in the game. FC Bayern has to get a grip on that.”
Nagelsmann, who is growing under increasing pressure after four games without a Bundesliga win, insisted the summer signing will come good: "He put in so much for Liverpool. He's a new signing. He just needs to adapt. He was trying. I'm certain he will succeed for us."
