Jurgen Klopp can repeat Sadio Mane trick with "versatile" new Liverpool signing

It remains to be seen how Liverpool will cope without Sadio Mane next season, but having seemingly signed his heir-apparent this summer, the future bodes well.

The Senegalese superstar has been integral to the Jurgen Klopp's cause ever since signing back in the summer of 2016 so it won't come as a surprise to see Liverpool struggle somewhat in his absence in the upcoming campaign. The Reds recruited the revered Darwin Nunez as his replacement, but while the Uruguayan will no doubt provide plenty of goals, he won't be able to match Mane for his versatility. Very few in world football can.

But there is potential in the pipeline at Anfield. Liverpool finished what they started back in January by finally concluded a deal for the highly-rated Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and it already appears as though Klopp has identified the talented teenager as Mane's long-term successor.

Just one year after arriving at Anfield himself, Klopp moved to sign Mane - a rough and unrefined 24-year-old attacker, who had spent most of his Southampton spell playing a supporting role to Graziano Pelle as a second striker. Over time, the Reds boss deployed the former Red Bull Salzburg man in all manner of positions as the player's versatility was exploited.

At first, Mane was used on the right, but when Mohamed Salah arrived one year later, he willingly switched to the left in order to accommodate the left-footed Egyptian, whose preference was - and still is - to cut in from the wing of his unfavoured foot. In the season just gone, following the January acquisition of Colombian winger Luis Diaz, Mane moved into a central role, subsequently thriving when called upon as a false nine.

The Senegal star's remarkable malleability made him an invaluable asset to Liverpool's attack. While it remains highly unlikely new signings Carvalho will immediately fill Mane's shoes to that degree, if Klopp's recent comments are anything to go by, it seems feasible he could do so in the future.

What do you think will turn out to be Fabio Carvalho's best position? Have your say in the comments section.

"Fabio, wow, what a season he played with Fulham," Klopp declared while speaking to the Reds' official website. "When we watched him it was a pure joy to watch him, absolutely.

"He can play so many different positions for us, the way we play. At the minute he's not really set on one position - it's the wing, it's the eight, it's the 10, it's the false nine if he grows a few more muscles.

"It's a short-term and a long-term project; he can start tomorrow and he needs to adapt, you can see that a little bit, but when he has the ball that's proper quality. I'm over the moon that he's here. Fantastic prospect."

In Carvalho, Klopp may have indeed unearthed the star of his next grand project. The 19-year-old arrives at Anfield as an emerging attacking talent, much like Mane did six summers' ago.

If anything, the Portugal Under-21 international actually appears to boast more experience of playing in different roles at this stage of his budding career that the Senegalese sharp-shooter did when he arrived at Anfield. The early indications are that Klopp will look to repeat his trick by using the player's versatility to mould him into one of the most adaptable attacking threats in football, a la Mane.

These are of course the embryonic stages of Carvalho's career, but there can be nit denying the signs are promising. And if anyone knows how to transform raw talent into a world-class superstar it's Klopp.