“The food was different, the weather, the rhythm of training, just life in general.”When he arrived in France it was the beginning of winter and he was just a boy.
“He was injured a month after he arrived and it needed three or four months for him to get back and fulfil his potential.
“We worked with his integration and he had to work hard every day.
“We worked with him in different situations as he had to find a new life but he really wanted to improve.
“Everyone here has wonderful memories of him as a boy and he keeps contact with some people here.”
After just one season, the Senegalese earned a switch to Red Bull Salzburg, where he established a proper reputation for himself – scoring 45 times in 87 matches in Austria. In 2014, Southampton signed him, and 25 goals and two seasons later, he’s the third most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history.
Andy Carroll and Christian Benteke have failed to live up to their price-tags, but Schaeffer reckons Mane has the tools to do so.
“I think so,” he said when asked.
“He is still a young player and I think when I’ve seen him, every year he gets better and better,” he added.
Mane could make his non-competitive debut for Liverpool in the coming days, with a friendly scheduled against Tranmere soon.
It will be interesting to see where Klopp deploys him, with most expecting Mane to eventually play from the right once Coutinho returns to action.
For Southampton last term, he actually played as a no.10 quite regularly, but our Brazilians are more likely to be used in the pivotal playmaker role, so we can utilise Mane’s pace out wide.
