Steve McManaman Tips Jurgen Klopp for Title Tilt, Criticises Mamadou Sakho

Former Liverpool star Steve McManaman believes Reds manager Jurgen Klopp is turning the Anfield club into title challengers once again.

McManaman said if Liverpool can go on from the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and win the competition, thus qualifying for next season’s Champions League, they could attract better players in the summer and return to the upper echelons of English football, per BT Sport (via the Daily Mail’s Sam Cunningham):

Klopp has put Liverpool on the map again. Beating Borussia Dortmund got people excited, people are noticing Liverpool again.

With the team in good form, a bit more experience, a good summer, Klopp’s signings could turn them into title challengers. It’s going to be difficult.

You expect Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte to be given a bundle of money by Manchester City and Chelsea’s owners. Manchester United could have a new manager.

But you’d like to see Liverpool in the top four or five, certainly fighting. Liverpool are heading in the right direction and with Klopp bringing in his own players it’s exciting.

The one-time England winger also slammed Mamadou Sakho for his recent failed drugs test, saying it was “inexcusable” for the Frenchman not to check with a doctor before taking what is believed to be a fat-burner containing banned substances.  

The centre-back has not opted to challenge UEFA over his failed test and is now “set to be suspended from playing for between six months and two years,” but McManaman has little sympathy with Sakho’s plight, per BT Sport (via Cunningham):

Players are surrounded by doctors and sports scientists and you shouldn’t be taking …

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