Sakho still has a role to play at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s public image is that of an affable uncle who can be seen taking to the pitch to hug his players at the end of each match.
Like all great managers, though, he does have a ruthless streak; something which Mamadou Sakho – the Liverpool centre-back who has been exiled from the rest of the senior squad for the last six months – has found out the hard way.
Sakho upset Klopp during the club’s pre-season tour of America, when he turned up late for a team meal, and then later – the straw that broke the camel’s back – a flight. On their own, these are minor infractions which would normally only warrant a slap on the wrist, but as a repeat offender Sakho was made an example of by his manager.
He hasn’t played a single minute of first team action this season as a result, his only competitive appearances coming for club’s U21 side. Incidentally, he also seems to have been taken off the agenda for Klopp’s pre-match press conferences too, the German noticeably reluctant to discuss his treatment of Sakho in public.
At 26-years-old, and with a promising career with the French national side to consider, Sakho is likely to depart Liverpool permanently (a short-term loan move is out of the question, according to reports).
There are no shortage of voices praising Klopp for his commitment to a disciplined dressing room, even if it comes at the cost of one of his best players, but pragmatism and compromise are an important part of top-level management as well.
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By pushing Sakho towards the exit door, the Liverpool manager is leaving his side desperately short on centre-backs – Lucas has filled in there on more than one occasion this season – and the Reds simply don’t have the pulling power to sign a world-class replacement (not without the promise of Champions League football, anyway – and there’s no guarantee of that next season).
It’s impossible to measure the impact on squad harmony of a player that refuses to play by the rules – but Sakho is no Bellamy (or even Balotelli, for that matter) and tardiness should not be a reason to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Defensive frailties have been the Achilles heel of free-scoring Liverpool so far this season, and although Sakho has his shortcomings on and off the field, he remains the best centre-back on the club’s books.