Luis Diaz has caused Liverpool teammate to explode amid ‘huge’ source reveal – pundit
Sadio Mane’s recent purple patch is down to Luis Diaz’s arrival at Liverpool, according to Danny Mills.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Man City and England full-back claimed Diaz’s signing has raised the competition levels in Liverpool training.
Mane, 30, has scored five times and provided one assist in his last five starts across all competitions.
He has found a new lease of life through the middle of the Reds’ front three with Mohamed Salah and Diaz either side of him.
“I think Mane’s performances are down to Luis Diaz coming in and upping the competition levels,” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“All of a sudden, there’s somebody else in there. If you’re not going to do it, if you’re not going to perform then look at this, they’ve got a guy that will.
“This is what happens. When good players come in, they raise the standards, they raise the levels of competition. When they do that, what you then get is everybody else’s standards go up.
“Suddenly now you’ve got Jota who can play in the 10 role, Salah on one side, Luis Diaz on the other and Mane down the middle. Before it was about how you fit these players in. You now stick Mane as your centre-forward, simple as that.”
Mane is out of contract at Anfield at the end of next season.
A club source told Football Insider last week (17 April) they are planning on offering him a new deal but do not want to break the bank and pay “huge” wages to secure his future.
In other news, Liverpool’s plan to announce a new signing can be revealed.