Jamie Carragher has questioned whether Liverpool will be as strong as they were last season following the exit of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich.
Darwin Nunez has arrived on Merseyside from SL Benfica and netted four goals in Thursday’s pre-season friendly clash with RB Leipzig, but our former No. 23 has weighed in on whether Jurgen Klopp’s side can be as competitive as possible once again during the upcoming campaign.
“I think that remains to be seen,” the ex-Red told talkSPORT (via Manchester Evening News).
“When you lose someone like Mane, who has been so pivotal for four or five years, and you’re bringing in a sort of unknown quantity in Nunez.
“He looks a top player and has great pedigree — and Liverpool did need to bring the average age of that front-three down. It’s difficult to say they look stronger right now, considering how good Mane was, certainly in the second half of last season.
“But also I’m really excited to see how they evolve with Nunez. It’s interesting to see the change of the dynamics of the team and, if it makes Liverpool better, then who knows?”
The Senegal international was a hugely important player for the Reds ever since he arrived from Southampton in 2017 – he won every major trophy possible during his time at Anfield and it was hard to accept when he admitted his intention to leave earlier this summer.
Although we may find it hard to directly replace our former No. 10, Nunez has arrived at the club and will be hungry to taste as much success as Mane did at Liverpool.
We ended the Premier League season as runners-up last term, a single point behind league leaders who have also strengthened their attacking options during the current window.
Erling Haaland has arrived from Borussia Dortmund and will provide more firepower for Pep Guardiola’s side and we therefore look set for another thrilling title race this time around.
With the arrival of Nunez, we look set to operate with an out-and-out striker for the first time in a number of years – that may therefore lead to a slight tweak in tactics from Klopp, we’ll just have to wait and see!
The post Jamie Carragher admits uncertainty at how Liverpool will adapt to life without Sadio Mane appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
