FEATURE: Senegal’s Mane and Egyptian Salah – a truly legendary African strike partnership
Salah and Mane – one of the great African strike duos
JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (ANA) – As the current English Premier League (EPL) season heads towards its conclusion in exactly one month, there could be just a handful of games left in which Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egyptian Mohamed Salah play together for Liverpool in what has become a legendary African strike partnership.
The defending EPL champions Liverpool are having a season to forget as they currently occupy seventh on the table on 53 points, and are two points away from a Champions League (CL) spot. Chelsea currently occupy the final CL spot in the EPL as they are fourth on 55 points with six games remaining.
With Liverpool’s poor league showing, rumours have been rife that Mane and Salah could both be on their way to other clubs. Mane has already turned 29, and Salah will turn 29 in June – and at their age their time left to move to another top European side may be running out.
It is believed that Real Madrid are looking to sign Salah, while where Mane may move is still being kept secret.
Salah was Liverpool’s top scorer in the EPL last season with 19 strikes as his side were crowned champions. Salah ended four goals behind Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy who was the top-scorer last season in the EPL with 23 strikes.
Salah is already a two-time winner of the African Player of the Year award – claiming the title in 2017 and 2018.
The former Chelsea player in his debut season (2017/2018) for Liverpool, Salah scored a phenomenal 32 goals from 36 league matches.
In the 2018/2019 season he scored 22 goals after appearing in all 38 matches.
Meanwhile, Mane was voted as Premier League Fans’ Player of the Year for the 2019/2020 season.
Mane was crowned African Player of the Year for the 2019 season. He was nominated alongside Salah, and Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez of Morocco.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp signed Mane from Southampton in 2016 at the age of 23, which raised a few eyebrows at the time. His transfer fee of 34 million pounds (R666m) made him the most expensive African player in history at the time.
If the pair do indeed go their separate ways in the off-season, Liverpool fans will still reserve a special place in the hearts for the African duo which catapulted The Reds to their first EPL title in 30 years, and rightfully so. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman
