Nigel Reo-Coker has urged other clubs to take a long hard look at Liverpool’s business instincts when it comes to finding the right time to sell key stars.
The comments followed Sadio Mane’s £27.5m move to Bayern Munich with the Senegalese international keen to seek out a new challenge – a request the Reds were prepared (if not quite happy) to accommodate with a deal for Darwin Nunez then in the pipeline.
“He took Liverpool to another level and clearly it is a big loss,” the ex-West Ham man told Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast (via BBC Sport).
“But they are always planning ahead and have got the structure and pieces in place to deal with departures.
“From a business perspective, it’s the right time to sell Mane. Other clubs play hardball over players and then lose them on free transfers a year later.
“I think they could learn from how Liverpool know when to let go of their players.”
The Merseysiders could be forced to pull off a similar transfer trick next summer should Mo Salah’s contract be allowed to run down to expiration date.
It’s fair to say that our transfer business under the guidance of Michael Edwards and, now, Julian Ward has been nothing short of exemplary and the good news is that standards don’t appear to be slipping in that particular department.
As such, we can more than understand the reported interest in our former recruitment team chief from the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea and PSG, among others.
That being said, it’s worth reinforcing the point that, as Jurgen Klopp has previously, our transfer business is very much the result of a group effort.
#Ep55 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Farewell Sadio Mane, Mo Salah contract hope… & more!