‘I played with Van Dijk and Mane – here’s why I thought one would flop’-ZoomTech News

Charlie Austin performed with each Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane at Southampton, however the star striker had a intestine feeling that one of many two would flop once they finally made their strikes to Liverpool

Charlie Austin thought that Sadio Mane would wrestle to succeed when he left Southampton for Liverpool – however not Virgil van Dijk.

Austin, now 35, performed alongside Mane in 2016, shortly earlier than the Senegal worldwide left St Mary’s for Anfield underneath Jurgen Klopp – in addition to Van Dijk earlier than he departed from the south coast in 2018. And whereas the star striker all the time knew that Van Dijk was destined for achievement, he was uncertain as to how Mane would honest at a much bigger membership.

Talking to Tubes on the Golf Life podcast earlier this 12 months, Austin mirrored on his Southampton days – itemizing off a number of gamers who had been spectacular on the pitch. He mentioned: “Van Dijk was there, Tadic was there, Graziano Pelle was there,” earlier than Tubes requested: “May you inform Van Dijk then was s*** sizzling?”

To which, Austin responded: “Yeah. To be the participant he’s, he had the potential. However to go in there and see him day after day prepare, it was simply easy for him. It actually was easy and that was the factor. He wanted to be pushed day in time out – after which if that come, then he was all the time going to go on to be the participant that he has grow to be. I actually imagine that.”

Nonetheless, the striker additionally identified that he thought Mane was going to be a flop when he parted methods with Southampton to hitch Liverpool in 2016. He went on: “Whereas Sadio, for argument’s sake, when he moved to Liverpool I used to be considering ‘I am probably not certain right here’.

“Truthfully, I used to be probably not certain. Bit uncooked to go and play for Liverpool, I would seen it sufficient. There have been glimpses, in fact – he scored the hat trick in opposition to Man Metropolis and stuff like that. Sensible. However then he went to Liverpool, and once more I simply suppose that comes with the administration, the environment, the gamers you are taking part in with…he simply took off and gone on to a very totally different stage once more. You play with them prime gamers, they only have one thing about them.”

Mane, went on to grow to be one among Liverpool’s star gamers between 2016 and 2022, scoring 120 objectives in 269 appearances underneath Jurgen Klopp – together with the 22 Premier League objectives within the 2018/19 marketing campaign, which noticed him earn the Golden Boot alongside team-mate Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Van Dijk, as anticipated of Austin in the meantime, has since gone on to make 272 appearances in a Liverpool shirt, lifting the Premier League title alongside Mane within the 2019/20 marketing campaign, in addition to a Champions League trophy the 12 months prior. He has additionally gone on to grow to be membership captain by means of his management and grit on the pitch.

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