SADIO MANE'S expected departure could force Jurgen Klopp into a tactical reshuffle next season.
Especially with wonderkid Fabio Carvalho tipped to play a key role when he arrives at Liverpool in the summer.
Superstar Mane has reportedly decided now is the time to move on - six years after joining the Reds from Southampton.
The forward has scored 120 goals in 269 games for Liverpool and has been key to the club's return to football's elite.
And his departure might tempt boss Jurgen Klopp into a formation change.
Carvalho, 19, has been deployed as an attacking midfielder at Fulham, playing a major role in the Cottagers' promotion back to the Premier League.
Klopp may decide to do the same, which could see the Reds switch to a 4-2-3-1 shape from the German boss' favoured 4-3-3.
Were that to be the case, Thiago Alcantara is likely to drop further back in midfield alongside Fabinho.
Mane's departure is likely to see Diogo Jotalead the line for the Reds next term, after the Senegalese forward largely occupied the role this season.
Mohamed Salah can play up front too, but the Egyptian King is more effective cutting inside onto his lethal left foot from the right hand side.
Luis Diaz will continue on the left after lighting up the Premier League since his move from Porto in January.
That is all of course dependent on Liverpool not signing an already established superstar forward to directly replace Mane up front.
Alternatively Klopp could decide to stick with what he knows and not switch up his formation.
The Reds have been linked with a move for Monaco man Aurelian Tchouameni, 22, with many of Klopp's midfielders now in their thirties.
Tchouameni could play in midfield alongside Thiago and Fabinho, while Klopp continues with a front-three.
That would in turn allow Carvalho to be deployed as an impact player from the bench as he accustoms to life at Anfield.