‘I don’t care what he says, there is definitely healthy competition between him and Salah’: Peter Crouch hails Liverpool star Sadio Mane by labelling him ‘different class’
- Sadio Mane has developed into one of the world’s best since joining Liverpool
- Mane has gone on to form a formidable partnership up top with Mohamed Salah
- Peter Crouch has hailed the 27-year-old, describing him as ‘different class’
Peter Crouch has sung the praises of Sadio Mane, labelling him as ‘different class’ following his goalscoring heroics for Liverpool both domestically and in Europe.
Mane has developed into one of the world’s most lethal forwards since his arrival from fellow Premier League outfit Southampton in 2016, and has formed a formidable partnership up top with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool’s constant threat up top has led to plenty of healthy competition for goals between the front three, most specifically between Mane and Salah – with the pair recently getting in a row with each other at Burnley after the latter failed to pass to the Senegal international when he was in a better place to score.
Sadio Mane has developed into one of the world’s most lethal forwards since joining Liverpool
Mane has since admitted he is on good terms with Salah and claimed there is no competition between the pair but Crouch believes that’s not true.
When speaking about Mane ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League clash at home to Red Bull Salzburg, Crouch told BT Sport: ‘He has come on amazingly well, he is scoring goals there and was top scorer in the Premier League last year right up there with Salah.
‘I don’t care what he says, there is definitely healthy competition between him and Salah for goals now.
‘I just think he has improved his all-round game. He is obviously incredibly fast, strong and pacey but sometimes he was a little wasteful. He is different class now.’
Michael Owen backed up his fellow pundit on Wednesday, claiming Mane is right up there with the very best.
Peter Crouch has hailed the Senegal international following his heroics for Liverpool
When asked if Mane could get into any team in the world, Owen replied: ‘I think he would. His finishing has certainly improved, he has become more consistent over recent seasons.
‘I think he is a typical Jurgen Klopp player in that Jurgen Klopp improves players. It is just standard in the team, you look right across the team, he gets people playing for him and he makes people better and there’s no question that his level at the moment is as high as it’s ever been.’
Crouch added that Mane is now worth double the £30million Liverpool originally paid Southampton back in the summer of 2016.
Crouch claimed: ‘I think when he was signed, people were talking that they might have overpaid for him but I mean he is worth double that now.’
Crouch claims there is ‘definitely healthy competition’ between Mane and Salah for goals