After cruising in the to the third round of the League Cup on the back of an electric display against Championship side Burton Albion, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was faced with the inevitable question of whether or not Mamadou Sakho would be sent out on loan with the press widely reporting that the Frenchman would be allowed to leave Anfield to regain his match fitness after being banned — and then cleared of any wrong doing — by UEFA for a failed drugs test last spring and picking up an Achilles injury after returning to full training.
“I am happy that I don’t talk in situations like this about things like this,” was the predictably direct, yet still vague, answer from the German manager. “Everybody who needs to know and be informed about this is informed about this and there are no secrets with the important people, I would say,” continued Klopp, content to keep his cards close to his chest as the close of the transfer window draws near. “I have nothing more to say about this at the moment.”
Word on the street is that the 26-year old, who is often lauded as the best defender at the club, has fallen down the depth chart and will have a hard time getting the kind of minutes at Anfield that a player needs to get back on top after such a long layoff. This, of course, clashes with rumours that Sakho has fallen out with the manager after being sent home from the pre-season tour of North America for a number of “minor” disciplinary breaches. For what it’s worth, perennial stragglers Sunderland have reportedly turned down the opportunity to take him to the Stadium of Light on a temporary basis, but Turkish champions Besiktas and Premier League outfit Stoke City are apparently chomping at the bit to bring him in before someone changes their mind. Although there were initial concerns that World Anti Doping Agency could appeal UEFA’s decision to not ban Sakho further after they found that the substance the Frenchman tested positive for was not actually on the banned list, they confirmed earlier in the week that he was in the clear.
“With the support of its List Expert Group, Wada thoroughly reviewed the full case file along with recently published articles on Higenamine. Wada supported the List Expert Group’s unanimous view that Higenamine is a beta2-agonist and does indeed fall within the S3 class of the Prohibited List,” said a WADA spokesman on Tuesday. “However, after careful review of the specific circumstances of the case, Wada decided not to appeal. Mr Sakho had already served a provisional suspension of one month and, given the circumstances of the case, it is uncertain whether a significantly higher sanction would have been justified and obtained based on the [Wada] Code and, more specifically, Mr Sakho’s degree of fault.”
