Assessing Liverpool's Attacking Depth Without Danny Ings and Sadio Mane

Even when things are going excellently both on and off the pitch, a football manager's best-laid plans can be swiftly thwarted, and this was the case for Jurgen Klopp when Liverpool striker Danny Ings was ruled out for up to nine months with a knee injury.

The 24-year-old damaged the cartilage in his right knee during the Reds' 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup, with Klopp confirming shortly after that "the likely lay-off is anywhere from between seven to nine months," serving a crushing blow to the No. 28 after he had already missed the majority of the 2015/16 season.

While Ings' outing against Spurs was just his second for the Liverpool first team in 2016/17, speaking at the beginning of November, Klopp told reporters that his long-term absence could see his plans change—with Ings previously pencilled in to cover for Sadio Mane when the winger leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mane could be with the Senegal squad from January 14 to February 5, missing at least four of the Reds' fixtures—as well as possible outings in the latter stages of the League Cup and also in the FA Cup:

• Manchester United vs. Liverpool, Premier League, January 15
• Liverpool vs. Swansea City, Premier League, January 21
• League Cup semi-final second leg, January 23
• FA Cup fourth round, January 28
• Liverpool vs. Chelsea, Premier League, January 31
• Hull City vs. Liverpool, Premier League, February 4

According to Klopp, Liverpool would "need to be prepared" for this run without Ings and Mane, saying "when Sadio is away we will be without a winger, [and] we do not have many wingers."

This could, therefore, see Klopp utilise the January market to sign another wide option for his Liverpool squad, to cater for the absence of Mane for the short term and Ings for the long term, with Borussia Dortmund's 18-year-old American star Christian Pulisic mooted as a possible target.

But do Liverpool need to add another winger to their ranks this January, or does Klopp have the solutions within his current crop? Here, we assess the depth of the Reds' attacking ranks without Ings and Mane. 

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Since Mane's £30 million move to Liverpool from Southampton, the 24-year-old has confounded expectations—as, while 15 goals and nine assists in 43 games for Saints in 2015/16 were impressive numbers, that these came over just 16 games (or 37 percent of his outings) highlighted a perceived inconsistency in his game.

However, with six goals and four assists in 11 games so far this season, tallied over six games (55 percent), Mane looks capable of shrugging off this tag and establishing himself as a top-level talent under Klopp on Merseyside.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

He has scored solo strikes, long-range efforts, glancing headers and close-range tap-ins, while his combination play with the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino has been exceptional, and his pace and direct brand of attacking play have proved devastating to a series of Premier League defences.

Crucially, too, Mane has slotted in comfortably within Klopp's demanding system off the ball, averaging 1.7 successful tackles per 90 minutes in the league, level with Coutinho (1.7) and more than Firmino (1.4).

Furthermore, Mane is successful with 77.3 percent of his attempted tackles, more than any other Liverpool forward:

	Attempted Tackles	Successful Tackles	Success Rate (%)
Sadio Mane	2.2	1.7	77.3%
Philippe Coutinho	4.2	1.7	40.5%
Roberto Firmino	3.7	1.4	37.8%

Mane has proved an excellent addition to Klopp's attacking line, and his absence in Liverpool's only loss of the season so far, away to Burnley on August 20, is testimony to his importance—something Ings, returning after an ACL injury suffered in 2015, will have struggled to replicate.

Instead, the former Clarets forward would more likely have provided Klopp with further depth as he looked to utilise his more established attackers, and even without Ings, these serve as useful options during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Daniel Sturridge struggled to take up Mane's duties against Burnley, fielded on the right of Klopp's forward three, but when starting in the No. 9 role against Leicester City, with regular starting centre-forward Firmino on the left and Mane on the right, he proved his ability to operate within the German's demanding system.

This would likely provide Klopp's most obvious existing solution with Ings sidelined and Mane unavailable:

This is Anfield

A similar option, whose tactical flexibility could allow Klopp to continue to field Firmino in the focal attacking role, is Divock Origi.

The Belgian has made appearances on both the left and right flanks in his time with Liverpool so far and could feasibly slot in either as the centre-forward or on the wing:

This is Anfield

Alternatively, Klopp could opt for a change in system, as he did against Spurs in the League Cup, shifting to a 4-4-2 diamond to accommodate Sturridge and Origi as his strike pairing:

This is Anfield

Furthermore, having primarily utilised a 4-2-3-1 system in his first season with the Reds, shifting back into this setup could be a short-term solution with Mane and Ings out of contention:

This is Anfield

However, given the success of Liverpool's 4-3-3 formation in 2016/17 so far, a direct replacement for Mane may be the most sensible course of action, and if Klopp turned to his academy ranks, he has two young stars primed for a first-team stint.

Firstly, this comes with the return of Sheyi Ojo from a troublesome back injury suffered during pre-season, with the Liverpool Echo’s James Pearce reporting the 19-year-old’s return to light training at the end of October and Ojo confirming his imminent comeback on Twitter:

"

Well done to the team with the win, atmosphere crazy as always! ... soon#54

— Sheyi Ojo (@sheyi_ojo) November 6, 2016"

Ojo was recalled from a muted loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers in January and went on to make 11 appearances for Klopp’s side, scoring once and laying on four assists—averaging a direct goal contribution every 90 minutes.

The former MK Dons youth is arguably the only other natural winger with first-team experience at Klopp’s disposal, and his return to the fold could see him present a like-for-like replacement for Mane in January; though it is likely he would primarily serve as a back-up option.

Pete Norton/Getty Images

Elsewhere, one of Ojo’s academy colleagues, Harry Wilson, could provide Klopp with another in-house solution, with the Wales international in excellent form for Michael Beale’s Liverpool Under-23s so far this season.

Wilson has four goals and three assists from eight Premier League 2 appearances so far this season, scoring against Chelsea, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at under-23 level. While captaining the young Reds at 19, he has shown the maturity and, crucially, quality required to make the step up to first-team football.

Furthermore, his ability to drift inside and operate as a more central attacking player would suit Klopp’s interchangeable attacking system, though his inexperience in the English top flight—with Wilson yet to make his senior debut for the Reds—could work against him if he was included.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Nevertheless, Coutinho, Firmino, Sturridge, Origi, Adam Lallana and, to lesser extent, Georginio Wijnaldum, are all great options for three or four roles in attack, with youngsters such as Ojo and Wilson serving as useful cover—Liverpool's attacking depth is strong, even without reinforcement; though further injury stands as a key caveat.

It can be argued that Klopp should only dip into the January market if it was to sign a pre-eminent attacking talent.

Pulisic—who, according to German publication Kicker (h/t the Express’ Bruce Archer) was the subject of a failed £11 million bid from Liverpool in the summer—would fit that bracket, as would Inaki Williams, the Athletic Bilbao winger who the Guardian’s Ed Aarons claimed was on Klopp’s radar back in January.

But with Liverpool typically playing just once a week this season, and with Mane potentially only missing four games—at worst, six—Klopp should have enough talent in his squad to navigate both his No. 19’s sojourn in Gabon and Ings’ lengthy spell in the treatment room at Melwood.

Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com and Transfermarkt.co.uk.

Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby and Facebook here.