Liverpool will get close look at ‘Sadio Mane successor’ after beating Benfica

Liverpool v Benfica: Match in pictures

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Liverpool will face Villarreal in the Champions League semi-finals after progressing past Benfica with a 6-4 aggregate triumph at Anfield on Wednesday. And Jurgen Klopp could get a prime opportunity to watch Sadio Mane’s potential successor in action across the two legs – Arnaut Danjuma.

An entertaining 3-3 draw on Merseyside was enough for Liverpool to triumph over Benfica in the quarter-finals. A day earlier, Villarreal clinched a 1-1 stalemate against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, proving Danjuma’s winner in the La Liga outfit’s 1-0 first-leg success decisive.

Danjuma has been one of the stars of Villarreal’s remarkable Champions League run after joining from AFC Bournemouth in a £21million deal last summer. And his electric form is garnering heavyweight interest, none more so than from the Yellow Submarine’s final-four opponents.

According to GOAL, Liverpool view Danjuma as a potential replacement for Sadio Mane, who will be out of contract in 2023 if he doesn’t agree fresh terms with the six-time Champions League winners. However, an approach is deemed ‘unlikely’ this summer, and he would be a target at the end of next season when Mane could leave.

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Unai Emery has been widely heralded for identifying Danjuma and recruiting him, considering the 25-year-old winger was playing in the Championship last season. He has dazzled with his scintillating pace, trickery and final product in his debut campaign in Spain.

The Dutchman has been directly involved in more goals than any other Villarreal player in all competitions this season, scoring 14 times and registering five assists. In the Champions League, his tally of six goals is three times more than any other member of Emery’s squad has recorded en route to the semi-finals.

Villarreal have lost just twice in this season’s competition – both times to Manchester United in the group stage – and have eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich in the knockout phase so far. They should provide a stern test for Klopp’s quadruple-pursuing machine, and the German coach will likely be keeping one eye on Danuma throughout the tie.

The Spanish side travel to Anfield for the first leg on April 27 before hosting Liverpool at the Estadio de la Ceramica on May 3. Danjuma’s stock would skyrocket higher than ever if he were to play a role in dumping the Premier League giants out of the competition.

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