Mamadou Sakho is surely one of the most ill-fated footballers of recent time who himself ruined his Liverpool career while performing at his peak for the Reds. Team culture has always been superior to individual excellence in Jurgen Klopp’s realm, and the Frenchman dug his own grave by committing mistakes one after another.
It all started at the crunch time of previous campaign when he was accused of using a banned drug and subsequently suspended for an indefinite period. Although it was proven later that he only used fat burners and came out clean, he missed Liverpool’s crucial Europa League final encounter against Sevilla that they lost despite an early lead and eventually failed to qualify for this season’s UEFA Champions League competition.
However, the whole incident could have been avoided if Sakho had consulted the club doctors as the players have repeatedly been informed to consult them before taking any pill according to club guidelines.
The whole drama displeased the former Borussia Dortmund boss who believes in strict discipline despite maintaining a friendly ambience in training and dressing room. However, Klopp still decided to take him to club’s US tour for the pre-season campaign.
But the Frenchman broke several codes of conduct during that period – he interrupted Klopp’s interview, missed a treatment session and his lack of punctuality irritated Jurgen Klopp and as a result was sent home from the tour.
His long absence due to suspension followed by an injury setback and misconducts refrained him from entering the pitch and was told to go out on loan to regain his full fitness. But he himself declined a move against Klopp’s wish and later his outburst via Snapchat (when the gaffer reiterated his decision of not including him in his first-team plans) made things extremely adverse for the Frenchman.
However, he kept on practising with the reserves and made a few appearances with the U23s to regain full fitness. Finally, he decided to accept a loan offer in winter and joined struggling Crystal Palace on the transfer deadline day until the end of the campaign.
Sakho’s inclusion boosted the Eagles back-line as his leadership skills earned his side three clean sheets in three appearances and Sam Allardyce’s men secured victories in all three of those outings. They are now temporarily out of the drop zone and Sakho has been shortlisted for March’s Premier League Player of the Month award.
As per many, Sakho’s instance could have been handled differently. The Reds do not have the luxury of squad depth and dumping Sakho might backfire in their pursuit of top four spots. Although Joel Matip has been a solid pick, both Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan have struggled with injuries and inconsistency.
Youngster Joe Gomez is back from his long-term injury woes, however, he is not yet ready to be a regular starter in Klopp’s system. Lack of defensive options forced him to play Lucas Leiva in a make-shift centre-back role, yet the German manager did not recall Sakho to the senior squad.
Sakho is not a world-class centre-back, but he is an experienced resource who has imposing game reading traits. His non-conventional style of defending often brings trouble, but he manages to recover on most occasions due to his calmness and accuracy. However, it is not that Mamadou Sakho is the solution to Liverpool’s concern of conceding way too many goals, they were vulnerable as well when Sakho was a regular starter.
Klopp’s high-pressing and attacking intent without any defensive midfielder in the lineup might be the reason why they can not stop conceding. Still, a defensive pairing of Joel Matip and Mamadou Sakho remains untested and if Klopp does not change his mind, we are not at all going to see them play together in Liverpool colours.
