Shaun Wright-Phillips believes Liverpool are ‘suffering’ as a result of selling Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich in the summer.
The Senegal star had been a huge hit at Anfield and won every major trophy possible for the Reds before swapping the Premier League for the Bundesliga.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have struggled for consistency this season and Wright-Phillips has been discussing the reason behind their huge drop off in performances compared to the previous campaign.
“I think it’s also letting go of the wrong players too,” the 41-year-old told All To Play For (via HITC). “I don’t think he realised how much Mane would be a massive miss. The amount of important games he scored in when their backs were against the wall was unbelievable and I think they’re suffering from that as well.”
There’s no denying that Mane was a world-class player and such a vital one for Liverpool but we’ve probably felt the impacts of selling him more than expected due to the fact that Luis Diaz has been out injured since October.
The Colombian poses a similar threat to what our former No. 10 did down the left flank with his pacy dribbling and direct style of play but has been sidelined since injuring his knee against Arsenal five months ago and then suffering a relapse while out in Dubai at club’s warm weather training camp.
The 26-year-old is expected to return to action later this month in what is a major boost for Klopp’s squad as we enter the business end of the campaign needing to secure a top four finish.
Bobby Firmino is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season which suggests a major rebuild is set to take place at the club this summer.