Ranking Liverpool's signings from Southampton in the Premier League era

#2 Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane has become one of the world's best attackers at Liverpool

It’s very hard to split the top two on this list, but Senegalese attacker Sadio Mane comes in at the #2 spot. Mane joined Southampton on transfer deadline day in September 2014 and enjoyed a fantastic debut season, even breaking the Premier League’s record for the fastest ever hat-trick – scoring 3 times in 2 minutes and 56 seconds in a game against Aston Villa. 2015-16 saw him perform excellently again, as he ended the season as the Saints’ top scorer with 15 goals.

The flying forward joined Liverpool in the summer of 2016 for a fee of £34 million – at that point, a record fee for an African player – and since then he’s basically never looked back. His debut season at Anfield saw him score 13 Premier League goals in 27 appearances, being named as Liverpool’s Player of the Season in the process.

2017-18 and 2018-19 saw him rise even further in importance, as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s focus on his attacking trio of Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino was a massive success, sending the Reds to the Champions League final in 2018 before they were able to win the trophy the following season. Along the way, the Senegalese striker was able to score a total of 46 goals in just 94 appearances for the Reds.

Now firmly established as a genuine world-class performer, Mane has already scored 13 goals in 22 games in the current season – 9 of them in the Premier League – and was even named in 4th place in the recent 2019 Ballon d’Or voting. The £34 million the Reds paid for him now feels like an absolute bargain.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee