Liverpool may have had a summer of record spending after winning the Premier League last season, but after this season’s many problems, even bigger moves are sure to come.
It has been a difficult season for the Redmen, who will not be able to retain the top-flight title but are aiming for glory in the FA Cup and Champions League, and are aiming for a place in the last 16 in both respects.
Although manager Arne Slott has praised his squad’s improvements in fitness, they still lack depth and dynamism in several areas, and FSG are already looking to address these concerns ahead of the summer transfer window.
For example, Kodi Gakpo has been too one-dimensional and uncompetitive on the left side this year.
Liverpool lead race to sign Premier League winger
When Liverpool released Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer, they did not replace him. Not directly. The emergence of Rio Ngmoha has played a key role in this, but with Ngmoha’s minutes limited this season, Liverpool may need to add more depth.
Slott can finally bench Gakpo and give a rare start to a ‘special’ Liverpool talent
Liverpool are aiming to return to the Champions League places with a win against Nottingham Forest.
Ngmoha still has superstar potential, but it’s clear Slott and others want to ease him into the action.
The important thing here is that Liverpool want to strengthen Ngmoha’s development without hindering his development, which is why sporting director Richard Hughes has turned to Matheus Mane.
According to Caught Offside, Wolves are prepared to lose the young prodigy this summer as they face relegation, with Liverpool said to be leading Arsenal and Manchester United in the race.
Mane, who is valued at £50 million in Old Gold, has already performed at an incredible level this season and Liverpool want to snap him up before his market value explodes.
Mane is one of the most talented teenage attackers in the country and if Liverpool pull this off they could sign a new version of Raheem Sterling.
Why Mane could become the new Raheem Sterling
Sterling ended his purgatory at Chelsea by signing for Feyenoord on a free transfer earlier this month. This could put an end to a long and storied and successful career in English football.
Sterling has not featured much in the past, but he began his top-flight career with Liverpool in 2010, when he left Queens Park Rangers to join the then-young Anfield side for a fee of £2 million.
Mane could now emerge as a new version, a precocious teenager, and the potential is astonishing.
He has scored two goals and provided one assist in 10 of 16 games in the Premier League this season. Even more impressive is his average of 4.1 duels and 1 dribble, underscoring his energy in just a few appearances.
It was a great start on the big stage, especially considering the lowly position Wolves are in.
Mane’s underlying stats, duel success and smart decision-making suggest that the Three Lions star, himself 18-years-old during Luis Suarez’s iconic 2013/14 season at Anfield, could become the new Starling.
Liverpool – Top scorer (2013/14) | ||
|---|---|---|
player | premier league | all comps |
Luis Suarez | 31 | 31 |
Daniel Sturridge | twenty one | twenty four |
Steven Gerrard | 13 | 14 |
raheem sterling | 9 | 10 |
Martin Skrtel | 7 | 7 |
The 31-year-old established himself as a superstar with 10 goals and nine assists in all competitions that year. The situation when he left for Manchester City was certainly painful, but Liverpool have saved up a significant amount of money and are now in a much different situation.
In other words, Mane will not want to leave Liverpool even if he is given a platform to further strength.
Liverpool’s development system may not be as intense as Chelsea’s or Manchester City’s, but the Merseysiders know their top talent right away and Mane is the real deal, with journalist Bence Boksak hailing him as a “special” talent who “could become a star”.
But unlike his namesake, Sterling was able to emulate that path by signing for Liverpool this summer, joining from a small club as an inexperienced teenager but a player with the potential to break out from the get-go.
Slott can finally bench Gakpo and give a rare start to a ‘special’ Liverpool talent
Liverpool are aiming to return to the Champions League places with a win against Nottingham Forest.
