Mamadou Sakho has been dividing opinions since the moment he stepped onto the stage. His style is at first glance clumsy; he often seems disoriented; and, as is the case with most Liverpool defenders since the days of Sami Hyypia, mistakes have always been a part of his game.
In truth, based on displays seen from Sakho throughout his career so far, there can be very little doubt that this is a high-quality player who gives his every last drop of blood for his team. On his day, there are few attackers in the world who would feel confident about facing him.
This season, injuries and illnesses have badly plagued Liverpool; their defence just as much as the other departments. Ragnar Klavan and Lucas Leiva, two central defenders initially intended for squad roles, have been employed far too often due to the many absences of the first-choice pairing of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren. There is therefore no reasonable doubt that having Sakho in the team would have benefited Jürgen Klopp significantly. His recent heroics for Crystal Palace, where he’s currently playing on loan, have prompted constant calls for Klopp to bring him back to Anfield next season.
But as always, the story has two sides, and the decision regarding his future at the club is not as straightforward as many want to make it seem. Disciplinary issues have been observed, confirmed and discussed, and too easily forgotten or simply brushed aside by the people who are calling for his unconditional return.
He neglected club discipline during the pre-season tour in America, which caused the manager to send him home. It is important to note that he had been injured at the time and couldn’t take part in pre-season training or friendly matches, anyway. After his recovery, he was forced to work hard to catch up with the required level of fitness, and this increased his uneasiness to the level where he took it out in a controversial social media post, which resulted in him getting banished to the Under-23s and eventually sent out on loan.
Had all this been the first time Mamadou Sakho had problems with discipline in his career, perhaps the calls for his unconditional vindication would have made more sense. The reason he missed the last part of the last season, including the Europa League final, should also be taken into consideration. He had been suspended for a month for an alleged use of an illegal substance, and even though he was later cleared of all wrongdoings there, the fact remains that he had used a fat-burning substance without the knowledge of the manager, the fitness coach, or anyone else at the club.
Aside from that, there was that infamous incident when he left the dressing-room in anger because Brendan Rodgers had decided to leave him out of the Merseyside Derby. Sakho later publicly apologised to his manager and team-mates for his behaviour and Rodgers gave him another chance. Should Jürgen Klopp now do the same?
Liverpool have had different experiences with different players when dealing with discipline problems. It’s hard to forget the antics of one Luis Suarez. When he directed some racially abusive words towards Manchester United’s Patrice Evra back in 2012, Kenny Dalglish, the manager at the time, initially gave him his full support, only to backtrack from it immediately under pressure from the club owners. His biting antics didn’t help the club much either, as he got suspended for ten games after biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Klopp himself had to have the final say on another troublemaker—Mario Balotelli. The talented then-24-year-old was signed to replace the void left by Suarez, but all he ended up doing was freezing himself out of the squad with his poor behaviour. On his arrival at Liverpool, Klopp chose to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
Should Klopp decide to forgive Sakho his lack of discipline and public outbursts, what would the result be? Would he have on his hands a player that Sakho certainly can be—fighting for his life on the pitch, successfully battling top strikers, making smart interceptions and incredibly accurate passes from the back? Or would the Frenchman return to the dark side, not respecting his manager or team-mates?
That of course is the question that Klopp needs to ponder carefully. Should he be able to count on Sakho, Liverpool would probably be spared of spending big money on another quality centre-back because he is definitely capable of challenging anyone in the league for a spot in the heart of defence. His performances for Crystal Palace against Chelsea and Arsenal prove that beyond doubt.
But should his lack of discipline resurface at any point, a chance to get good money for him—boosted by his performances for Crystal Palace—would probably be gone beyond recall, leaving the club stuck with him while in need of another man to compete with Lovren and Matip; the same situation as it was at the start of this season.
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