Flanagan Sings Mane's Praises

Jon Flanagan is ready to make an impact over the coming season. He's fighting fit now. And he's out there, in the mix, rain or shine, sprints and all, busting his hump at Melwood with the team. Taking on Klopp's philosophy. Working hard to push for a place in the squad.

And our Scouse Cafu has seen some very impressive stuff from new boy Sadio Mane, calling the ex-Southampton player, "top-class" and "a great asset." This coming, of course, if you can even remember back as far as March, from a Jon Flanagan who was part of an absolute capitulation by Liverpool to Sadio Mane and the Southampton Saints.

The match began with Mane on the bench. Fine. Great. Reds up 2-0. Second half Koeman and company start getting some ideas about putting Mane in the game. Then they made the audacious move of actually putting Mane in the game. I know. Not fine. Not Great. When the dust finally settled, when Sadio Mane was done with us, when he had thoroughly shamed us, the score was 3-2 Saints and the Senegalese forward had unquestionably won the day. A day Jon Flanagan would rather forget, thank you very much.

"Don't remind me about that game!" Flanagan said while chatting with the Liverpool Echo. "He showed that day what a great player he is."

Agreed, Jonny.

Also in for loving words for Flanagan were other new faces, Loris Karius, Marko Grujic and Joel Matip, who the Merseyside native called "a big lad who is great on the ball." Yeah, that about covers it.

The popular view is that Liverpool Football Club indeed have signed a top class player in Mane and we should all be just as happy as Jon Flanagan is to see him in red now and terrorizing someone else's back line next season. And beyond.