Jurgen Klopp has refused to question Sadio Mane’s confidence levels as the forward’s goal drought continues.
The former Southampton ace has yet to register a goal across all competitions since late November in the resounding 4-0 win over top four hopefuls Arsenal in the Premier League.
“Sadio has no problem with confidence but of course the momentum finishing-wise is not there at the moment. Otherwise he plays really well,” the German was quoted as saying by RTE.
“One of my analysts made a video to show Sadio how much he contributes to our game and how good he is in these moments.
“Obviously the intention was to show he should not be too worried that the finishing is not there because he is an incredibly important player for us, that’s the view we have on it.”
The attacker’s numbers this term are far from being horrific, with 10 goal contributions registered in 25 games, though there will be increasing pressure mounting on the No.10 in light of his struggles the prior term.
With a contract set to expire in the summer of 2023, similarly to Mo Salah and Bobby Firmino, a lack of goal contributions will undoubtedly concern the club and its recruitment team as decisions are made around any potential contract offers.
Klopp will certainly know more than most just what the Senegalese international is capable of at his absolute best, though with the player set to head into his 30s there will be similar doubts to those raised over our Egyptian King’s future with regard to the extent to which the 29-year-old can continue to perform at the highest level.
We’ll be hoping to see any such doubts blown away by a stellar second-half of the campaign from Mane, which he’s more than capable of delivering in a full-strength Liverpool side.
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