Liverpool fans need to give Sadio Mane a chance

Former Southampton player Sadio Mane transferred to Liverpool over the weekend. Liverpool fans have been divided on the move. The player allows Liverpool to have pace and creativity that the reds have needed. Liverpool needed to add an explosive attacker in this transfer window. They found that in Mane. So why are Liverpool fans so upset with the signing? Well it could be  the fact that Liverpool just spent 30 million on another Southampton player. Some are comparing the signing to the expensive fee that the Reds occurred last season with Christian Benteke. But this is a different case. Mane is actually a better fit than Benteke. Last year the transfer committee was so concerned with selling Raheem Sterling that they desperately signed Benteke. It was a mismatch especially when Klopp came in. Mane, on the otherhand, is a player that fits the system. Will he live up to the price tag? Probably no, but let's give him a chance before we crucify him.

Mane has shown flashes of being a great player. He is after all only 24 years old. He has not hit his prime yet. Now he gets to have those prime years in Liverpool. At Southampton he scored 15 goals and 6 assists. He has also displayed a breakneck pace, which compliments the Liverpool system. Just look at Mane's goal against Chelsea. He jogs along waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. Then when a ball is lobbed by a fellow teammate, Mane breaks showing his pace and skill. The defender is left trailing far behind. Mane then smartly chips the ball over the keeper an easy goal. He compliments the likes of Countinho and Firmino. Just imagine what he will look like when he is playing with Origi. It is scary. Yes, there were bigger named options, but Mane may fit better than any of them. 

There are a few concerns. Mane won't be eligible to play a few season with Liverpool. Instead his time will be taken up with Africa's Cup of nations. This includes a critical game against Manchester United away. This will obviously hurt as taking away Mane can hurt the formation that Klopp wants to run. In terms of a technical standpoint, Mane has lacked consistency. Yes he has shown flashes of becoming a great player, but he has disappeared in some games. In fact hat was the chief complaint leveled against him when he was at Southampton. Liveprool have had a history of basing signings on potential rather than consistency like Benteke. So Mane needs to improve in this area.

For all the criticisms of the Mane signing, there has been one staunch defender of it. One man that has celebrated the signing as only benefitting Liverpool no matter the cost. Of course I am speaking about Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. When Mane signed with Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp celebrated the signing. He even came out and said that he had wanted Mane for four years. That the signing fit his system perfectly. Liverpool fans have often blamed controversial signings on the infamous transfer committee, but this is not the case with Mane. Klopp got his man. A signing that really fits into the system. The high pressing style of Liverpool can only benefit an opportunistic Mane. 

While the 30 million transfer fee does seem a bit high, Mane was actually a very good signing for Liverpool. He adds the needed pace and explosive potential that Liverpool need. This is not another Christian Benteke signing, rather a brilliant signing in the Klopp era. So Liverpool fans, before you crucify this signing realize that you need to give the young man a chance to succeed in this system.