One former Liverpool player is set to complete a transfer which’ll go down as one of the more left-field moves of the summer.
Seven years on from ending his time at Anfield, Mamadou Sakho has since gone on to play for Crystal Palace and Montpellier, although he made an acrimonious exit from the latter last autumn after a physical altercation with his manager.
The 34-year-old is now set to end his seven-month spell as a free agent, with RMC Sport reporting that he’s about to sign for Georgian club Torpedo Kutaisi on a one-year deal. His new boss will be Steve Kean, who’s best remembered in this country for a much-maligned spell in charge of Blackburn in the early 2010s.
The veteran defender is believed to have been convinced by perks which are rarely offered to players in the eastern European nation, and his role at the Ramaz Shengelia Stadium won’t be confined to on-field activity, as he’ll also be involved in an ambassadorial capacity in Georgia.
The Mirror‘s Richard Innes once described Sakho as a ‘defensive maverick’, and it’s a perfect summary of the 34-year-old.
At his best, the Frenchman was a commanding presence at the back for Liverpool who also excelled in possession, but there were also baffling moments of clumsiness which attracted no shortage of criticism.
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His reputation wasn’t helped by incidents such as the one which led to his demise at Montpellier, or his eviction from the Reds’ US training camp in 2016 for lax timekeeping.
Nonetheless, Sakho secured cult hero status among many LFC supporters, and his imminent arrival at Torpedo Kutaisi is an incredible coup for the Georgian league, with the country already riding the crest of a wave from their first-ever qualification for a major tournament as Euro 2024 awaits.
Let’s hope the move works out for him and his club, as well as having a positive effect on football in the eastern European country.
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