There’s not a Liverpool fan out there who isn’t worried about Sadio Mane’s looming Africa Cup of Nations departure. The Senegalese forward will officially leave Merseyside after the Reds have taken on Sunderland and may not return until early February, with his nation among the favourites to go all the way at the tournament.
We’re not suggesting that Liverpool are a one-man team at all, but the £30m+ summer signing has been a huge factor in the club’s progression this term. His pace and goalscoring edge – his eight league strikes make him the team’s leading scorer in the Premier League – will be sorely missed.
Naturally, with January’s transfer window upon us, the rumours have been swirling for a while now, and one name that won’t go away is Quincy Promes.
Reports from the Mirror have claimed the club can get him on board by meeting his release clause of around £20m over the coming weeks, and his numbers from a fine season so far at league-leading Spartak Moscow hint that he may well be worth the outlay…
Promes, like Mane, has demonstrated his end product this term by directly contributing to twelve goals (six goals and six assists), but it’s some of his other stats that suggest he may be ideally suited to replacing the ex-Southampton man.
Indeed, he’s made as many tackles as Mane, 13, hinting that he puts in the hard yards, while he’s attempted 52 dribbles (completing more than 50% of them), which shows that he offers a direct threat. Interestingly, he can play all across the frontline and has done so for Spartak this term, even popping up at centre-forward on more than one occasion.
There are the caveats regarding the quality of the Russian Premier League and whether or not he could adapt quickly, but for a relatively modest fee in modern football, Promes could ensure Mane’s absence is not too costly.
[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]
[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]
