When Liverpool signed Luis Diaz from Porto for about £37m in January 2022, Sadio Mane was still an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's squad.
Moreover, Liverpool were firing on all cylinders, in the Premier League title race, into the final stretch of the Carabao Cup and having qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League – the Reds would ultimately clinch two slices of the mentioned silverware but the grandest prizes went begging.
Mane was 29 years old and when the season concluded, he'd have been a member of the Anfield squad for six years, signing from Southampton for £34m in June 2016.
Diaz was clearly signed with prudence in mind, the duality of the Senegalese and the Colombian left wingers working well during that fleeting but thrilling period, but the latter has never really captured the same prolific level of his predecessor despite enjoying plenty of success.
Now, aged 27, Diaz is attracting interest from Barcelona after only two full seasons, with Arne Slot's Liverpool seemingly set on moving for a talented, younger, more Mane-esque heir.
Liverpool hunting for Mane 2.0
Diaz is electric-paced and dynamic, but he's only scored 24 times across 98 fixtures for Liverpool and has marred his impressive physical showings with wastefulness in decisive phases.
So with Barcelona maintaining their interest in the player, according to Spanish outlet Diario AS, Liverpool might be wise to consider his sale, especially if their price tag of €75m (£63m) is met.
And if a figure in that ballpark is recouped, Liverpool must turn the transfer cannon toward Leeds United's Crysencio Summerville, who, according to Fabrizio Romano, is still on FSG's radar having been scouted for months.
Leeds failed to secure promotion back to the Premier League and will need to sell some stars, with Summerville, aged 22, rumoured to be available for just £30m, though Chelsea are also keen.
Crysencio Summerville's season in numbers
Summerville was crowned the Championship Player of the Season for his Elland Road escapades, scoring 21 goals and adding ten assists as Leeds finished third, missing out on automatic promotion, despite accruing 90 points. Last season's third-place team, Luton Town, were ten points worse off.
2023/24
Crysencio Summerville
Leeds United
2022/23
Chuba Akpom
Middlesbrough
2021/22
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Fulham
2020/21
Emiliano Buendia
Norwich City
2019/20
Ollie Watkins
Brentford
2018/19
Teemu Pukki
Norwich City
2017/18
Ryan Sessegnon
Fulham
2016/17
Anthony Knockaert
Brighton & Hove Albion
2015/16
Andre Gray
Burnley
2014/15
Patrick Bamford
Middlesbrough
The Netherlands U21 international, principally a left-flanking forward, is fast and furious and charged by a natural prowess with the ball at his feet, allowing him to breeze past defenders and enter space to strike on goal or find a teammate with a crisp pass.
His goal return might have caught the eye but his creativity is criminally underrated. As per Sofascore, Summerville created 17 big chances, completed 84% of his passes and averaged 2.3 dribbles and 2.6 key passes per match.
Freedom of movement breeds unbridled artistry for a player such as Summerville, whose joy is observable through his lightning change of pace, his drop of the shoulder, slaloming past adversaries. It's no wonder that analyst Ben Mattinson hailed him as a "1-v-1 monster".
Summerville would be a credit to Liverpool's first team, still so young and malleable, and while there is a new face in the dugout, Slot would be the perfect head coach to lift his countryman to the fore, shaping him into his own version of Mane.
How Crysencio Summerville compares to Sadio Mane
Mane scored 120 goals from 269 matches for Liverpool but he was far more than just a goalscorer; he was an adept dribbler, a fluid link-up player – a conduit, of sorts.
In this sense, Summerville could emulate the one-time Redman, with his above-mentioned virtues illustrating his suitability for Liverpool, and Slot, who is known to love wingers and the role they can play within his system.
If we line the statistics behind Mane's final Premier League campaign alongside Summerville's from this term, the combativeness, creativity and athletic distinction become clear. To boot, Summerville knows how to find the back of the net.
Matches played
34
43
Matches started
32
41
Goals
16
19
Assists
2
9
Pass completion
77%
84%
Big chances created
9
17
Shots per game
2.9
3.0
Key passes per game
1.3
2.6
Dribbles per game
1.4 (61%)
2.3 (56%)
Duels won per game
4.7 (44%)
5.8 (52%)
Mane was at the end of his Premier League and the 2021/22 campaign, while still of first-rate quality, was not his finest. Summerville, though, has showcased his ability to succeed the Senegal international, endowed with Diaz's speed and snap while honing a superior deadliness in front of goal.
Incidentally, both players have caused Klopp grief at Anfield while starring for the opposition. Fans will bleakly recall Summerville's dramatic late winner on Merseyside in October 2022, condemning Liverpool to a damaging top-flight defeat.
But in Mane's second season as a Saint, he too heaped misery on Liverpool's newly-appointed German manager as his last-gasp strike salvaged a draw at Liverpool's home, marking Klopp with a third draw in as many matches to start his tenure. Furthermore, Mane scored an emphatic brace as Southampton defeated the Reds in the reverse fixture later on.
Suffice it to say, Liverpool will not be rueing that long-forgotten agony any longer, having reaped the rewards of Mane's finest years to charge toward illustrious success.
Liverpool have a history of signing players who have frustrated and bruised them: Darwin Nunez, Gini Wijnaldum and Dejan Lovren spring to mind. Summerville was clearly earmarked after silencing Anfield aged just 20 and has now lifted himself to a level that could genuinely make a positive impact on the flank of Slot's team.
Journalist Jake Winderman has proclaimed that the Dutchman has produced matches of "world-class" quality this season and now he must be handed the opportunity to bring his skills to Anfield, donning Liverpool red.
He's passed the Anfield test, he's sharpened his tools in the Championship, earning his laurels. Summerville might even be Mane reincarnate – surely it's worth investing in such a wonderful young talent.
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