Mamadou Sakho has made very strange and contradictory statements on Snapchat which may have huge repercussions.
The process of rehabilitation appeared to be progressing for Mamadou Sakho. Having been sent home from the U.S pre-season tour and made to train alone, things had previously looked bleak. However, in more recent times Sakho had been allowed to train back with the first team squad and there may have been a glimmer of light if he’d kept his head down and worked hard.
All that changed on Friday night with a series of strange Snapchat posts by the French defender. Sakho made numerous provocative statements such as ‘it’s three weeks I am fit to play games. I finish all my rehabilitation work’ and ‘I accept my situation but I cannot accept the lie. The fans deserve to know the truth’. It’s doubtful that Jurgen Klopp has Snapchat but you can bet he’ll be fully aware of these comments.
Klopp had previously made Sakho aware that he’d be best heading off on loan in the summer and decent offers came in from clubs like Stoke City. Sakho chose not to heed the advice and remained at Anfield, in the hope of breaking back into the first-team despite Klopp’s suggestion. When pressed on the situation, Klopp had previously stated, ‘Now we have more centre-halves – good – but for him it needs time. It is part of the game and we will see what happens.’
Well, time has now elapsed and we’ve seen how Sakho has chosen to react. The oddest of the posts seems to contain a direct contradiction. The 26-year-old claims he’s ‘still not talking cos’ I want speak on the pitch’ yet follows that up instantly with ‘I will speak soon for the people who support me and don’t understand the situation’.
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You can only assume that Sakho believes that his opportunity won’t arrive on the pitch as he even claims that he’s been told he can’t play with the second team (U23’s). Therefore, he’s going to speak out in the near future. Why post that you want to let your feet do the talking then?
Matip and Lovren clearly look to be the first-choice centre-half pairing and for good reason, it seems. Both had excellent games against Chelsea and partnerships need time to build. Ragnar Klavan did well in the League Cup during the week and even notched a goal, whilst Lucas proved he was the back-up at Leicester despite a mistake. Joe Gomez is still to come back from injury which puts Sakho as sixth option at best.
The reaction on Twitter has quite rightly been for the large part negative. The former PSG captain appears to enjoy a cult following at Anfield, with some who appear to back the defender against Klopp no matter what actions and statements occur. Others realise that this season appears to be one where positivity is no ringing around the club again. It’s the team rather than individual stars that needs to be the focus and this is the type of behaviour that you feel will rile Klopp and supporters.
Silverware isn’t a guarantee by any means, yet there is a feeling that if we carry on progressing at the current rate we can dare to dream.
That needs everyone pulling in the same direction and those who try and rock the boat may find themselves being given short shrift. Sakho may be finding shortly that even if you declare yourself a ‘Scouse Soldier’ that certain actions mean fans don’t necessarily view you the same way anymore.
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