Breaking Down How Sadio Mane Will Fit in at Liverpool

Sadio Mane has been unveiled as a Liverpool player, completing a move from Southampton and possibly becoming the most expensive signing in the Reds' history.

Mane arrived for his medical on Merseyside on Monday, with some reports suggesting the fee could rise to £38.5 million with add-ons, as suggested by Sam Wallace of the Telegraph. That would eclipse the £35 million Liverpool paid to Newcastle United for Andy Carroll in 2011.

BBC Radio Solent report that the initial fee is £34 million, while news from Merseyside reporters such as the Guardian's Andy Hunter claimed the fee was "around £30 million." Club insiders telling their respective reporters a different fee to make their club look better isn't anything new.

Whatever the price, Liverpool will have given Southampton almost £100 million in the last two years, with Mane following in the footsteps of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne in swapping the south coast for the north-west.

The Senegal international is, according to the Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh, a player Liverpool's transfer committee identified two years ago when he was impressing at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. Then-Reds' boss Brendan Rodgers turned down the deal, and Mane instead headed to Southampton for £10 million—less than a third of what Liverpool are now paying two years later.

Mane—who will sport the No. 19 at Anfield, the club have confirmed—now becomes Jurgen Klopp's fourth permanent signing at Anfield, joining goalkeeper Loris Karius, centre-back Joel Matip and midfielder Marko Grujic at Melwood when pre-season training begins on Saturday.

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Klopp was keen to add a winger with pace to his ranks this summer, and Mane now appears to be that player, having previously been linked with and scouted players such as Mario Gotze and Sadio Mane.

Speaking back in February, Klopp told reporters a winger was his priority over another forward in the summer.

“We have enough strikers but not too many wingers, just a few young ones with great potential," he explained, per Press Association (via This Is Anfield). "We have to decide early and at the right moment on transfers, but it is about a squad where you can play different systems and react to different situations."

Mane arrives presumably to fill that void in the Reds' squad, with Klopp wanting more width in attack and more variety, too. The manager was also keen that any new signing arrived in time for pre-season, so there will be no waiting for Gotze to decide in late August that he doesn't fancy hanging around as a sub at Bayern Munich after all.

Attacking Options

Mane can operate anywhere across the attack, on either wing, behind the forward or even as a centre-forward. Such versatility will appeal to Klopp.

According to Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old was used mostly on the right for Southampton last season, making 21 appearances on the right flank, 13 as a secondary striker, and six on the left. It was, however, from the left where he destroyed Liverpool in the second half at St. Mary's in March, when he was introduced at half-time and scored twice as Martin Skrtel and Jon Flanagan provided the weakest right side of defence to combat him.

WhoScored.com suggest differently, saying Mane only played on the right nine times, but they do have his best player ratings from that side. Transfermarkt say that nine of his 15 goals were scored from the right-side position, and five of his nine assists, too.

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So, Mane is seemingly best when played on the right of the three behind the striker, and that seems to be the area Liverpool need him for most. 

Last season, Klopp predominantly used Adam Lallana or James Milner on the right when utilising a 4-2-3-1, with youngsters Sheyi Ojo and Jordon Ibe getting an opportunity there later in the season.

If Klopp is, as expected, to use his preferred formation, Mane would fit in well on the right side of the three attacking midfielders, and he'd offer something different to Lallana or Milner.

Indeed, Lallana's place seems to be the one most under threat, and considering Mane has scored almost double the number of goals than the Englishman has scored in the last two seasons (25 versus 13), he'd be adding more of a goalscoring threat from wide areas.

Where Mane Will Fit in at Liverpool

Assuming a) that Klopp uses his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation most often, and b) that Mane will occupy the right-sided role within that attacking system most often, Liverpool's attacking quartet could look like this:

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Of course, systems and personnel change from game to game, and Klopp may opt to use Mane on the left, if he feels his pace can be used to expose a slow right-back in opposition, or even deploy the Senegalese behind the forward if he wants his pace and dribbling ability in a more central role.

Essentially, Klopp will rotate Mane, Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, with three of those four starting each game. Form, fitness, opposition and tactics will decide which of the three start, while the odd man out will be a pretty effective substitute to have in reserve.

There is another option for Klopp, possibly to be used against weaker opposition at home when he needs creativity to break down a stubborn defence. This would involve playing Coutinho in a midfield three—a role the Brazilian looked good in during the second half of the 2013/14 campaign but has been rarely used in since:

thisisanfield.com

This would give Liverpool width with Mane and Lallana either side of the forward, which could be Daniel Sturridge or Divock Origi. From the left, Mane would be able to drift inside as he often did for Southampton last season, allowing Alberto Moreno to overlap out wide and provide the width. Firmino would be the one to miss out in this instance.

Mane's arrival offers more variety, with few of the other options offering such pace and dribbling as the Senegal man. Lallana, Milner, Coutinho and Firmino are predominantly technical players, but Mane offers pace and strength that the current quartet don't. His arrival gives Liverpool more options and better balance in attack.

One of the criticisms of previous manager Brendan Rodgers was that his squad was hugely unbalanced, with no real winger other than youngster Jordon Ibe, and far too many similar players. Klopp is addressing that with the arrival of Mane and pursuit of other dynamic players who are suited to the rigours of the Premier League.

Mane won't be pinned on the right side of Liverpool's attack; he'll interchange with the others, make runs past the forward and move inside to allow Nathaniel Clyne to overlap out wide. He'll offer variety and unpredictability.

Of course, the major concern over Mane is his inconsistency—going 19 games without a goal last season—but Klopp seems confident he can improve this area of his game. After all, Mane only recently turned 24 and has his best years ahead of him.