Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has admitted that Sadio Mane will be a big miss but insists that Darwin Nunez will bring a new dimension to the team next season.
Mane left the Merseyside club earlier this summer for German giants Bayern Munich, in a deal believed to be worth around £35 million.
The Senegalese international spent six years at Anfield, playing 269 times and scoring 120 goals.
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His presence in the Reds’ famous front three will surely be missed, but Jurgen Klopp acted quickly to replace the 30-year-old.
Darwin Nunez arrived prior to the Mane deal being confirmed, for a fee in the region of £85 million.
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The Uruguayan experienced a breakout campaign for Benfica in 2021/22, scoring 34 times in 41 appearances.
Liverpool captain Henderson believes that Nunez will be an adequate replacement for Mane and will thrive in the Premier League.
Speaking to the Athletic, he said: “The recruitment staff will have watched him (Nunez) in plenty of games and will have seen a lot of quality. Hopefully, he can settle in and hit the ground running.
“He’s a new option and a new dimension for us with the way we play and we’ve got to adapt to that quickly."
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"This group has shown in the past that it is easy to settle in quickly, he can already speak with some of the lads and hopefully he can pick up English quickly."
“It was always going to be difficult losing Sadio because he’s world-class — one of the best forwards in the world. We were sad to see him leave but we wish him all the best.
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“For us, you look at the forward line and it’s still very strong. We have brought new players in but we also have world-class players who performed last season.
“Luis Diaz performed phenomenally well, look at Mo (Salah) and the numbers he’s got, and obviously Bobby (Firmino) is a big plus coming back from injury last season."
"Darwin is hopefully a huge player for us going forward, and we have some young players coming through as well. Competition for places drives people on.”
Topics: Liverpool, Jordan Henderson, Darwin Nunez, Sadio Mane
Alfie Culshaw