120-goal club legend coming back to Liverpool is now on

120-goal club legend coming back to Liverpool is now on

Liverpool now seriously need to consider bringing back a 120-goal club legend.

The Reds don’t tend to deal in comebacks, well away from the pitch anyway. On the pitch, they are the masters of it.

However, when a player leaves Anfield, that chapter is usually closed for good.

It's only every so often that there are exceptions to this rule.

The most iconic is probably Ian Rush. He left for Juventus, returned, and went on to become Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer, not a bad way to round off a second spell.

Steve Staunton is another. After departing in the early ’90s, he came back years later and quietly slotted in for a couple more seasons.

Then there’s Robbie Fowler, whose return under Rafael Benítez felt driven more by emotion than strategy, but still had its moments.

And Craig Bellamy also enjoyed a second stint after time away, one that ended on a real high for the Welshman winning the League Cup trophy.

Looking at those examples, a pattern does start to emerge. Most were attackers, players capable of making an immediate impact and they tended to be short-term solutions to Liverpool's problems.

It’s far from the Liverpool way, but when the club does bring someone back, it’s usually with a clear purpose, and every now and then, it pays off.

Which is exactly what it could do this summer when a player who scored 120-goals for Liverpool becomes a free agent.

With Hugo Ekitike suffering a devastating achilles rupture against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, an injury that won’t just end his season, but will also keep him out of the World Cup and likely a large part of the next campaign as well, the Reds need to act.

The current expectation is around nine months on the sidelines for Ekitike, which is a brutal setback for him.

Of all the club’s new arrivals, the Frenchman had settled the quickest and looked the most at home. With 23 goal contributions in his debut season, he’s delivered an impressive return, especially given Liverpool’s inconsistent campaign.

In many ways, he’s already grown into one of the faces of this new era, quickly becoming a fan favourite at Anfield.

Now, though, Liverpool must find a way forward without him. For the foreseeable future, Arne Slot will be without one of his most important attacking outlets.

They cannot rely on Alexander Isak alone, and neither will Federico Chiesa be at Anfield next season.

So, Liverpool need a temporary solution.

This is where Sadio Mane comes in. He scored 120 goals during his time at Liverpool and became a club legend.

This summer his contract is expiring with Al Nassr and he could be on the move. At 34-years-old, he's still got one more year in him.

He's shown at the African Cup of Nations just how effective of a player he can still be.

And at Liverpool there has been a sense of him perhaps having left a little too soon.

Just as he transformed himself into a powerful central forward under Jurgen Klopp, Mane left for Bayern Munich.

It's that legacy that he can continue at Anfield again. One last remontada to help out his former club.

Right now, Liverpool need leadership and leadership in attack in particular because there's a lot of younger players with little experience of playing at the very highest level.