Sadio Mane may join Belgium winger Jeremy Doku at Liverpool this summer, a guy Jurgen Klopp allegedly felt might be a long-term successor for the Reds' number 10 while attempting to buy him in 2018.
Liverpool knew this day would come as soon as they recruited Mohamed Salah in the summer of 2017 and saw him form one of the top assaults in the world alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The triumvirate would be split up soon after they had joined forces.
Fortunately for Jurgen Klopp, none of Liverpool's attackers have followed in the footsteps of Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez, and Fernando Torres by departing the club prematurely. Rather, after leading the Reds to Premier League and Champions League victory, the three had put in seven, six, and five years of service, scoring 374 goals and assisting 163 times while avoiding any speculation about their futures.
Playing under Klopp was certainly the finest place to be, with Liverpool experiencing the strikers' best days as a result of winning six titles together at Anfield. However, because their contracts are all slated to expire in 2023, the Reds will have to consider replacing the trio on their own terms in the near future.
Such work has already begun behind the scenes on Merseyside, with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz being brought in to ensure the trio were no longer automatic starts. Meanwhile, people like Harvey Elliott and now Fabio Carvalho show that there has always been a long-term succession plan in place.
However, with Mane reportedly wishing to join Bayern Munich this summer and Salah and Firmino's futures unknown beyond the end of their contracts, Liverpool's attack might soon look quite different for the first time since Klopp's first full season at the club.
Liverpool will have been planning the next generation of their attack for quite some time, knowing how difficult it will be to replace the striking three that has made the Reds one of Europe's top teams. As a result, they attempted to sign Jeremy Doku in 2018.
The winger was just 16 years old at the time when he was asked to meet Klopp for talks at Melwood, where he was also met by Mane, Gini Wijnaldum, and Simon Mignolet. Despite his father's wishes for him to join Liverpool, he stayed with the Belgian club until joining Rennes in Ligue 1 for €26 million in October 2020.
Doku's father, David, went so far as to say that Klopp had suggested he regarded the boy as a possible successor to Mane one day while recalling his son's journey to Melwood.
"Jeremy could sign a professional contract with Anderlecht at the age of sixteen, but Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, Ajax, and PSV were all interested at the time," Doku senior told Het Niewsblad. "After that, we went to teams like Liverpool and Ajax, but Stellar Group gave us the option to choose."
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