Jurgen Klopp has proven Paul Merson wrong with ruthless Liverpool transfer decision amid Fabrizio Romano update

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have proven Paul Merson wrong over Sadio Mane.

Mane became a legend at Liverpool over the course of his six years at the club, but he found himself expended last summer and was sold to Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants spent £35million to snap up Mane, and the transfer led to plenty of criticism from fans and pundits, given the important role he played in Klopp’s setup.

Liverpool struggled without Mane last season, but the vast majority of their problems were in midfield and at the back, with far geater causes to the disappoiting campaign managed by the Reds.

After a disappointing start from Liverpool, pundit Merson was quick to highlight what he thought was a mistake in relation to the sale of Mane.

“No one’s got started yet for Liverpool, no one’s playing well,” he said on Sky Sports. “With Sadio Mane, I thought it was the worst bit of business I’ve ever seen in football for a long, long time. It was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

“£30m for a big-game player. If I’m the owner of the club, I want to win the league and you keep Mane to give yourself the best chance of that. Let him go for free next summer, he’s done enough for the club and it’s only £30m. I think that’s come back to bite them.”

But Liverpool’s timing may have been better than first thought. Mane scored just seven times in 25 league appearances for Bayern, and he is already on the move. Fabrizio Romano has tweeted: “Sadio Mané and Al Nassr, deal getting closer as reported yesterday night — talks are at advanced stages today.

“Deal not sealed yet but progressing well since yesterday night Told Bayern and Al Nassr are in direct contact today to reach an agreement as soon as possible. “

The deal is said to be worth around £35.2million, so Bayern have not lost much on the deal, but they have been bailed out a little by the big money being offered by Saudi Arabian clubs. According to Transfermarkt, when Bayern signed Mane, he was worth a whopping £51.3million, and his poor form in Germany has seen that value drop to just £21.3million. Liverpool may not have been so wrong at all.