French centre-back Mamadou Sakho is close to leaving Liverpool this summer on loan due to his persisting injury concerns.
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is preparing to send Mamadou Sakho out on loan this season. The French defender has fallen down the pecking order at Anfield, and due to numerous injury worries, a loan move could benefit him in regaining full fitness.
The 26-year-old has been out all summer recuperating from a damaged Achilles tendon. Due to his injury, he failed to play a single minute of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies leading up to the new season.
Sakho had travelled with the Liverpool squad for their tour of the United States of America, but was sent back by Klopp due to concerns about the player’s attitude. The defender turned up late for Liverpool’s flight and was involved in another altercation in San Francisco.
This immediately gave rise to reports linking him with a move away from Anfeld, but those were quickly played down by the player’s agent, who claimed that Sakho would not leave the club. However, it now seems that the former PSG defender will be heading through the exit door this summer — most likely only on a temporary basis.
Is Jurgen Klopp right to let go of Sakho?
Sakho has a number of Premier League appearances under his belt and on his day, he seems to be one of the better defenders in the country. In 22 appearances last season for the Reds, the 26-year-old made an impressive 6.2 clearances per game (via WhoScored)
He was also convincing in the air, averaging 3.5 successful aerial duels per game. His aerial prowess meant that he was a threat in both boxes as he managed to grab a solitary goal for his side. He was tidy with the ball as he maintained a pass accuracy rate of 87.9 percent while his partner Dejan Lovren could only manage 84.6.
Mamadou Sakho is arguably the best central defender Liverpool have at the moment. Klopp brought in two centre-backs from the Bundesliga in Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip, but they have no previous experience of playing in England’s top flight, which could be crucial as the season wears on.
