Liverpool have suffered the departure of Sadio Mane recently as the Senegalese forward joined Bayern Munich. However, the Reds have some options to replace the 30-year-old as they recently signed Darwin Nunez from SL Benfica. The Uruguayan was one of the most hyped players in Europe after his sensational performances for Benfica in the Champions League.
But overall, Liverpool will miss Sadio Mane a lot, especially the experience that he brought to the team. Mane was one of the first few signings that head coach Jurgen Klopp made to turn this team around.
It was a matter of time for the Liverpool front three to get replaced and that is what happened with Mane leaving the club. However, the Reds have planned the situation well as they signed Nunez but former England international Darren Bent feels Diogo Jota to be the man to take over the left flank after Mane’s departure.
Bent shares how the Portuguese winger was a forgotten man as he mostly came off the bench but then he had some head turning performances for the Reds which brought the limelight back on him. The Reds may have options, Bent feels Jota is their best bet to replace someone like Mane.
Sharing his thoughts on talkSPORT, the former Tottenham striker highlighted how replacing the Senegalese wil be a major challenge for the Reds. “I don’t think you can replace him straight away just man-for-man because I think he’s too good. But if (Luis) Diaz gets his numbers up in terms of goals and assists and Jota’s scoring goals. He was kind of the forgotten man towards the end of last season but he stepped in and was brilliant.”
Liverpool have a plethora of talent despite losing Mane they have players who can step up and on a given day win matches for Jurgen Klopp. That is something that Bent highlighted as he praised the depth present in Anfield. “Diaz, (Roberto) Firmino’s still there and obviously (Mohamed), Salah speaks for himself, so they’ve still got so many different options in that front three area,” Bent concluded.
Diogo Jota joined Liverpool back in 2020 from Wolverhampton Wanderers and became an instant impact. However his injuries were a major hindrance in his growth. He still scored 13 goals in 30 matches in his first season.
Once he was fit, he started showing his true potential as he scored 21 goals and provided 8 assists in 52 games last season in all competition and became an attacking phenomenon for this team hence winning Darren Bent’s confidence.
