Losing Sadio Mane is a “bigger blow” to Liverpool than if Mo Salah left, according to Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas.
Mane has told the Liverpool hierarchy that he wants to find a new club this summer with Bayern Munich having two bids turned down for his services.
The latest bid from the Bundesliga champions was worth £30m and reportedly included £6.5m worth of add-ons that were deemed unrealistic by the Reds.
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A fresh report from German newspaper Bild have claimed that Liverpool are now ‘prepared to hand over’ Mane after sealing a deal to bring Darwin Nunez to Anfield.
Mo Salah’s future is also up in the air, despite confirming he will be at the club next season, with his contract running out in just over 12 month’s time.
And Arsenal legend Nicholas reckons Mane’s contribution to the team will be a lot harder to replace than Salah’s goals.
Nicholas told BonusCodeBets: “Liverpool should not break the bank to give Mo Salah a new contract. I have tremendous respect for what Salah has done, but this is Liverpool Football Club. They’ve returned to the heights and Jürgen Klopp has taken them to an incredible level.
“The signing of Diogo Jota was clever. He’s not as good a player as Salah, but his goalscoring record is fabulous. I’m a massive fan of Roberto Firmino, he reminds me of Dennis Bergkamp, and I love those types of players.
“He doesn’t have the speed of movement that he once had and because of that, Luis Diaz is now in the side.
“Sadio Mané leaving Liverpool would be a bigger blow than losing Mo Salah. Whilst Salah’s goalscoring record is better, Mané does a lot more for the team.”
𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗿𝗮🥹
🇸🇳Sadio Mané: 269 games, 120 goals
🇪🇬Mo Salah: 254 games, 156 goals
🇧🇷Roberto Firmino: 327 games, 98 goalsThank you for the memories. #LFC pic.twitter.com/TzU1ck43Eh
— Zubin Daver (@zubinofficial) June 11, 2022
Nicholas added: “Diogo Jota and Luiz Díaz can definitely fill the gap left by Mané. Jota’s energy levels, without being supremely technical, are breathtaking.
“Luis Díaz reminds me so much of Luis Suárez, he’s terrifying. It’s non-stop pace and movement. There’ll be days that it doesn’t work but these guys only need a couple of minutes on a football pitch to make the difference and Jürgen Klopp knows that.
“Over the last year or two, Liverpool haven’t spent that much. They spent big on Allison and Virgil Van Dijk, but the way Liverpool do business, in terms of the low fees they pay for most players, is breathtaking.
“If both Salah and Mané left, it’d be problematic, but all Liverpool fans would say “In Jurgen We Trust” and he would bring another one into the party.”
