'One of the top three wingers in the world' - Liverpool coach claims £34m Mane has exceeded expectations

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Jurgen Klopp's right-hand man, Peter Krawietz, has been surprised by the efforts of the Senegalese forward

Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz says Sadio Mane has exceeded expectations following his £34 million ($47m) move from Southampton in 2016, to become "one of the top three players in the world in his position as a winger".

Five years at Anfield for the Senegalese forward have delivered 218 appearances, 97 goals, a Champions League crown and Premier League title.

Mane has starred across a memorable era of success for the Reds, with considerable value found from a man who ticks all of the right boxes for Jurgen Klopp's style of football.

Krawietz told Liverpool's official website of Mane: "I believe Jurgen feels that as a manager it was one of his biggest mistakes not to sign him for Borussia Dortmund! Then of course we had him always in our minds, we knew how unbelievable he can be.

"We followed his development at Southampton as well and he performed already on this higher level, in the Premier League, and this was in the end a no-brainer opportunity to bring this player to our squad.

"That was one of our golden decisions, I would say. We were absolutely right with our first impression. At the same time, we were surprised with how well he developed during his time in Liverpool.

"His qualities are unique. Sadio is a player with every, every, every possibility in attacking: his one-v-one skills, his speed, left or right, his finishing. His ability to score goals with his head as well is unbelievable - to jump as high as he is able to do, I never saw that before.

"As well, his readiness and ability in terms of defending; whatever you want from him he is able to learn very, very, very quick and has this effort he puts in for the team in defending situations as well. He leads by example, he leads by quality, he leads by his attitude."

Krawietz says Mane offers much more to the Liverpool cause than just goal threat. His energy and willingness to work hard have made him a fan favourite on Merseyside.

Krawietz added of a man who needs just three more goals to become the 18th to reach a century of strikes for Liverpool: "You can see the fire which is burning inside him on the pitch and a lot of opponents try to provoke him.

"This is something that he learned during the years as well, to stay calm and at the same time not to lose his fire and his will and his ambition to play successful football and to give the opponent no possibility to bring him out of the middle of his brain, to disturb his concentration or his focus.

"This is something that he improved so massively and is a clear sign of his personality and his development to be one of the top three players in the world in his position as a winger."

2021-06-28 18:00:03

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