In less than three years of his time at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has accumulated one of the most exciting squads in Europe at the moment. The German tactician is busy trying to add quality to his side, to help them compete with the best next season, but he is also in danger of losing star players, who were crucial in the progress of the club last season.
One such player, linked with an exit recently is Sadio Mane.
The Senegalese international joined the Reds from Southampton back in 2016 and has been a vital player in Klopp’s system, playing his first season on the right wing and his second on the left. He started off slowly in the last campaign but ended it with 20 goals and 8 assists in all competitions for the Reds.
He scored Liverpool’s only goal in the Champions League final in Kyiv and was one of the most consistent wingers in Europe last season. He is still 26 and is one of the first names on the team sheet for Klopp next season as well. But his consistency at the highest level has already attracted interests from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Reports earlier in the summer claimed that Mane had an agreement to join Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid this summer but with the French manager gone, that deal fell through. However, it is now understood that Los Blancos have retained their interest in the former RB Salzburg winger.
It is reported that Florentino Perez sees Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane as adequate replacements for Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is inching close to an exit. Ronaldo is reportedly close to joining Italian giants Juventus and Mane is wanted as a replacement. But can Real Madrid really land the 26-year old?
Though the Reds were never in the title race last season, they were one of the most consistent sides in the country. They troubled the best of teams in Europe, got the better of Manchester City, the league winners at Anfield and are seemingly not too far away from landing their first Premier League title.
Mane has been crucial for this progress at Anfield and Liverpool just cannot afford to lose him any time soon. The player himself has squashed such rumours, saying that there is no contact from the Spanish club but he did leave the fans wondering, tagging the La Liga giants as a ‘great team’.
He will get first-team opportunities at Bernabeu if he decides to move and could be as effective in Spain, as he was in England, but Mane is settled at the moment and can give Liverpool another year, before looking to take a step away.
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The Reds need him and do not really have to sell this summer. So Mane to Real Madrid might be a rumour that we will see in the upcoming days, without too many advancements.
