"Massive miss" - Paul Merson on Sadio Mane's departure

Pundit Paul Merson has given his verdict on Sadio Mane's departure from Anfield.

Liverpool sold the winger to Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of £28.80 million earlier this month.

With that being the case, Merson has explained why the Reds will miss Mane.

“Massive miss, massive,” he told Sky Sports.

“I worry for Liverpool, they’ve got an unbelievable manager but people forget that Mane was a big-game player who scored big goals. He wasn’t getting third, fourth and fifth in a 5-0 win, he’d get the winning goal, the goal that took the lead or the equaliser, they’re the goals I look for.

“This lad (Darwin) Nunez has got to hit the ground running like (Luis) Diaz and that doesn’t very rarely happen in the Premier League."

Anfield Watch Verdict

We completely agree with Merson's take. Mane scored a lot of big goals for Liverpool. In fact, there are far too many to go through.

Mane found the back of the net 120 times in 269 appearances for Liverpool's first-team. The aforementioned figures highlight just how good of a player the winger is.

So, of course, Mane is going to be missed at Anfield. It is pivotal that Liverpool's newest forward, Darwin Nunez, hits the ground running.

In saying that, the Uruguay international will need some time to settle into life at Anfield. The reality is most foreign players do need a bit of time to adjust to a new league and culture.

But, we are confident that once Nunez finds his feet, he will be a superb player for Liverpool. The 23-year-old scored 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica last season.

Therefore, we are confident that Liverpool will eventually move on from Mane.