We were surprised by how well Sadio Mane developed, proclaims Peter Krawietz

We were surprised by how well Sadio Mane developed, proclaims Peter Krawietz

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Sadio Mane has achieved cult status at Liverpool

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Jurgen Klopp's assistant Peter Krawietz has been surprised by the development of Sadio Mane. Following his £34 million transfer from Southampton in 2016, the Senegalese forward has become "one of the top three players in the world in his position as a winger", exceeding the expectations of many.

Sadio Mane has achieved cult status following five years at Anfield ever since his move from Southampton with the Senegalese forward thriving at Anfield with 218 appearances, 97 goals, a Champions League trophy and a Premier League title. Bombing down the left-wing and effortlessly linking up with Mohamed Salah, Mane’s dribbling, pace and trickery with the ball has defined Liverpool’s attack in recent times, propelling the Reds to subsequent glory.

Bought from the Saints for a mere £34 million, Mane has starred across a memorable era of success for the Reds and it has seen Peter Krawietz admit that he has been shocked by the way the Senegalese has developed over the years. Klopp's assistant further added that the Liverpool boss believes that it was a mistake he never signed Mane for Borussia Dortmund and that the 29-year-old's abilities are unique and the forward leads by example and "by his attitude".

"I believe Jurgen feels that as a manager it was one of his biggest mistakes not to sign him for Borussia Dortmund! Then of course we had him always in our minds, we knew how unbelievable he can be. We followed his development at Southampton as well and he performed already on this higher level, in the Premier League, and this was in the end a no-brainer opportunity to bring this player to our squad. That was one of our golden decisions, I would say," Krawietz said, reported by Goal.

"We were absolutely right with our first impression. At the same time, we were surprised by how well he developed during his time in Liverpool. His qualities are unique.  Sadio is a player with every, every, every possibility in attacking: his one-v-one skills, his speed, left or right, his finishing. His ability to score goals with his head as well is unbelievable - to jump as high as he is able to do, I never saw that before. 

"As well, his readiness and ability in terms of defending; whatever you want from him he is able to learn very, very, very quick and has this effort he puts in for the team in defending situations as well. He leads by example, he leads by quality, he leads by his attitude," he added.

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