Abhranil Roy
Liverpool have officially announced the signing of Sadio Mane, the Southampton forward for £36m yesterday, while Manchester United have reportedly close on signing Borrusia Dortmund forward Heinrikh Mkhitaryan for £26.3m, but that is an estimated figure which can rise to over 30 given add ons, bonuses and other obligations. Sky Sports has reported that the Dortmund CEO has acknowledged that United’s bid has ” significantly” improved, which is transfer lingo for they have accepted it. The question now is, who has got the better deal, United on the Armenian or Liverpool on the Senegalese? Let’s find out.
Player Profiles:
Sadio Mane:
Southampton bought the 24 year old for around £12m in the summer of 2014. Since his arrival at St Mary’s, Mane has had two successful seasons. But just how good has Sadio Mane been?
This season Mane came third just behind Mahrez in terms of non penalty goals scored by wingers with at least 1500 minutes played. Last season he came second in the league in the same category with 0.42 NPG per 90, behind only Alexis Sanchez who had 0.49 NPG per 90. He has 11 goals and 6 assists to his credit from last season, and even we were linked to him last summer. His creative numbers have been pretty average, his dribbling numbers were good if not great, and his goal scoring numbers have been fantastic this season, while his goal scoring numbers are borderline elite, and his overall goal contribution is very good.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan:
Mkhitaryan started his career in Armenia with Pyunik, before leaving in 2009 and spending four years in Ukraine with Metalurh Donetsk and Shakhtar Donetsk. A club-record switch to Borussia Dortmund, then occurred in 2013, and he went on to score 41 times in 140 games in all competitions during three years in Germany.
A creative attacking midfielder, Mkhitaryan registered 11 goals and 15 assists last season in 31 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Dortmund, being voted the Players’ Player of the Season in the process as they finished second behind Bayern Munich.While naturally more of a No 10, the Armenian also has the speed and skill to play out wide – once saying he would have been a sprinter were he not a footballer – and the calmness and composure to play deeper as a central midfielder.
Tactical:
Mane is the kind of winger Jurgen Klopp would love having, with him feeding crosses into the box for the likes of Benteke and Origi. He is also a hard working and technically good, which means he will be a great fit for the German’s ” gegenpressing” system.
Jose Mourinho prefers a solid no. 10 in his favoured 4-2-3-1 system, and with Rooney set to settle in deep midfield, Mkhitaryan could be the man for the job. Both Juan Mata and Ander Herrera have failed to consistently impress in that role, and the Dortmund man could be the solution. With Martial and Rashford around him, he will find a lot of pace and movement to work with, which could turn out to be lethal.
Final Verdict:
Both teams seem to have got hold of someone they needed, however on paper, United certainly have got the better player with more experience. Let’s hope that’s how it works out for us in reality as well!
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