Strains in the troubled relationship between Liverpool coach Jurgen Kopp and his central defender Mamadou Sakho have been lengthy and well-documented.
For over a year now, his last appearance made in a 4-0 derby victory over Everton near the end of the 2015/2016 season in which he scored, the French international has been frozen out at Anfield after having enraged the German boss - who then shipped him out to Crystal Palace for an impressive loan spell in the second half of last season that saw Sakho become a Selhurst Park fan and dressing room favourite.
He now remains in limbo, with Crystal Palace and coach Frank De Boer currently mulling over a £30mn quote from Liverpool to make the move permanent, which they already deem too high.
Meanwhile, though Saturday’s thrilling 3-3 draw at Watford showed that the Reds are still as impressive going forward, even in a post-Philippe Coutinho world as Barcelona close in on the Brazilian attacking midfielder, it would appear that shortcomings in defence which proved so costly in their previous campaign remain a threat to their success.
Staved off by Southampton in a pursuit with echoes of Barcelona’s own for Coutinho, Liverpool have fallen flat in their attempts to prise Dutch defensive linchpin Virgil van Dijk from St Mary’s and desperately need an improvement on the likes of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren despite the pair having notched up a 14 match unbeaten run together last time round.
In Sakho however, they already have an additional paid-for option regarded as the team’s best defender yet cast-off as an exile far from involvement with the first XI. These developments have led to former players such as John Arne Riise and Mohamed Sissoko speaking out on the debacle: branding Sakho an “asset for Klopp” and predicting him to “turn it all around” “through hard work and commitment” respectively.
Should Liverpool’s defensive woes remain evident in their following fixtures, which take in a vital Champions League qualifier against Hoffenheim this week, and fail to land van Dijk or suitable reinforcements before the transfer deadline on August 31st, it remains to be seen how long Kopp will continue his vendetta against Sakho should Crystal Palace not cough up for his capture.
