Sadio Mane has the flint and steel which will ignite the start of a new era at Chelsea where scoring goals will no longer be a problem – but that doesn't mean he needs to join the Blues. See, sometimes it's better to just sit back, watch, and observe; this is exactly what the club must do ahead of the summer transfer window.
First it was Cristiano Ronaldo, then for a moment it was Neymar and now it's Mane. Instead of trying to sign a player who was once world-class, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium must be prepared to learn why Ronaldo reached the levels he did at Real Madrid, what made Neymar so successful at Barcelona and how Mane helped form one of the fiercest attacks at Liverpool.
So, as the west Londoners approach the formative years of a new age, footballing decisions must be left to those who have been appointed to do so; co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley; technical director Christopher Vivell; director of development Neil Bath; director of professional football and scouting Joe Shields. Chelsea are lucky enough to have some of the best in the business, so let them build a brighter future.
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When Mane joined Liverpool in 2016, he marked the start of a revolution. Not just at Anfield, but across European football. While Klopp welcomed plenty of other players to Merseyside too, the Senegal international enjoyed a fantastic stay, winning the Premier League and the Champions League during his time on Merseyside.
The next Chelsea manager -who looks likely to be Mauricio Pochettino - needs a player of Mane's profile to walk through the doors in the summer, with the 31-year-old have been loosely linked with a summer move to Stamford Bridge.
Upon Mane's move from the Reds to Bayern Munich in the summer, Klopp claimed that the forward made everything which the club have achieved possible.
In an interview with the official Liverpool website, the German said: "It’s a big moment. There is no point in anyone trying to pretend otherwise. One of Liverpool’s greatest ever players is leaving and we must acknowledge how significant this is.
"He leaves with our gratitude and our love. He leaves with his status among the greats guaranteed. And, yes, he leaves in a moment where he is one of the best players in world football.
"But we must not dwell on what we now lose, instead celebrate what we were privileged to have. The goals he scored, the trophies he won; a legend, for sure, but also a modern-day Liverpool icon.
"Since he first stepped through the door, he made us better. If someone had told us in that moment what he would go on to contribute and achieve for this club, I’m not sure it would have been possible to comprehend in that moment.
"Not the scale of it at least. Sadio made it all possible. To be that good for such a sustained period and continuously improve season on season – no matter how high he set his own bar in the previous one – is an example to any player anywhere on the planet that professionalism and dedication leads to reward."
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