EDITOR’S PICK
EKO HOT BLOG reports that Liverpool ace, Sadio Mane looks increasingly likely to leave Liverpool this summer with the forward favouring a move to Bayern Munich after the Champions League final.
The 30-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with the Merseysiders and has so far been reluctant to commit to fresh terms, instead of playing coy over his future at Anfield.
While Mohamed Salah – whose contract also expires in 2023 – was adamant he would still be at the club next season, his teammate was rather more vague.
‘This question [on my future] I will answer after the Champions League,’ he said this week in the build-up to Saturday’s final against Real Madrid in Paris. ‘If I’m staying or not, I’m going to answer after the Champions League.’
According to German newspaper Bild, that decision is very likely to see Mane reject a contract extension with Liverpool and instead push for a move to Bavaria.
In an ideal world, the Senegalese forward wants to win the Champions League for a second time with Liverpool, saying goodbye to the club in style before making a switch to Bayern.
As things stand, Bild claims Mane is ‘leaning very strongly’ towards a transfer to the Bundesliga and, after six years at Anfield, is looking for a new challenge.
Liverpool does not expect Mane to extend his contract beyond 2023 and the onus will now be on Jurgen Klopp and the club’s hierarchy to decide whether they want to keep a player who is eager to leave – and will depart on a free transfer next summer – or cash in now.
With just one year left on his contract, Bayern are only prepared to pay around €30million (£27.5m) for Mane – a price they feel is fair given the player’s age and contract status and which is comparable to what Liverpool paid for Thiago when he left the Allianz Arena in similar circumstances.
Mane enjoyed another strong season in front of goal for the Reds, netting 16 times in the Premier League and adding a further five goals in the Champions League en route to the final.
However, Liverpool already has a ready-made replacement for the former Southampton man in the shape of Luis Diaz, who has been a revelation since joining the club from Porto in January – while he has already displaced Mane on the left wing with the latter moving to a central role.
FURTHER RRADING
Mane’s potential arrival at Bayern could then see the German champions agree to let Robert Lewandowski leave the club, with the Polish hotshot out of contract next summer and pushing for a move to Barcelona.
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