Mamadou Sakho’s Liverpool career looks to be coming to an end.
The French international defender hasn’t played for the first team since April and has effectively been banished from the first team since being sent home by manager Jürgen Klopp from the club’s tour of the United States during the summer.
Klopp later instructed Sakho to leave Anfield on a short-term loan deal, a request that the 26-year-old refused, and the player hindered his own cause further when he published a 3 a.m. Snapchat rant bemoans his situation and heavily implying that Klopp was lying to Liverpool’s fans about him.
French publication L’Équipe have reported on Wednesday morning that as far as Klopp is concerned, Sakho is surplus to requirements (in fact it goes as far as to say that he “no longer exists” in the boss’s eyes) and as such the centre-back is almost certain to leave the club in January.
The social media posts, as per the report, were the final straw for the manager and the relationship between the two parties since has been non-existent.
He has been playing for the under-23 side in recent weeks, and despite Klopp making eleven changes for Tuesday night’s EFL Cup victory against Tottenham, Sakho was nowhere to be seen as Liverpool instead fielded Ragnar Klavan and Lucas Leiva as the centre-half pairing.
Sakho is (at best) the fifth choice behind the aforementioned duo, along with Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip, so if he has any aspirations of forcing his way back into the French national side, his best bet is to leave Anfield in January.
Ligue 1 side Lille have reportedly expressed an interest in him already, while his availability is bound to attract Premier League attention once again.
All in all. it appears certain that Sakho has played his last senior game for the club, just six months after he was being hailed as an Anfield hero.
Elsewhere this morning Red Bull Leipzig youngster Naby Keita said that he turned down a move to Anfield in the summer.
The 21-year-old midfielder left Red Bull Salzburg for the Bundesliga this summer, but he says he had plenty of Premier League options.
“Arsenal, Manchester City, and Southampton were all interested in signing me and Liverpool as well, although I did not speak with their coach,” he told SportNet.
“I did not want to join a big Champions League club right away. It is too early for that. I want to prove myself in the Bundesliga first now.”