'Mane is quick, has a fantastic mentality and is perfect for Klopp'
Sadio Mane's desire to win back possession and break on the counter-attack has been highlighted as a key reason why the Senegal international can thrive at Liverpool.
The versatile forward completed a switch to the Reds from Southampton last week, after scoring 25 goals in 75 games during his two-year stay at St Mary’s.
Four of those strikes came against Jürgen Klopp’s team last season – with Mane the catalyst for the Saints’ 3-2 comeback win in March as a second-half substitute.
The manager had actually been tracking his progress since 2012, a period which included a productive spell in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg before a move to the Premier League.
And a man who worked with Mane at that time has explained why the 24-year-old has all of the attributes to carry out Klopp’s gameplan.
“He’s the type of player who fits perfectly in the philosophy of Jürgen Klopp,” Oliver Glasner, former assistant manager at Salzburg, told ESPN FC.
“He’s very quick. He has a fantastic mentality to work against the ball [and] play very high pressing.
“We always used GPS in training and afterwards the data [said] he was one of the players who ran the most in every training [session].
“He works a lot for the team in defence, which is very important for Liverpool. He’s used to doing this from Red Bull Salzburg. He wants to do this because he knows that he will profit, so then he can score goals and make a lot of assists.
“After training he tried to improve his shooting and he stayed on the pitch for maybe 20 or 30 minutes and tried dribbling inside from the left wing and shooting. This was his mentality. He wanted to improve.
“I think if he can play always on his highest level then it will be a big step for him. Playing with Liverpool and Klopp is the best for him.”
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