Liverpool have reportedly been keen on striking a deal with Bayern Munich to re-sign Sadio Mane, who hasn’t endured the spell he would have originally hoped for with the German giants. It has been revealed by Bild that Bayern Munich are looking to move on Mane this summer, after a well-publicised disagreement with team-mate Leroy Sane took place after their Champions League clash with Manchester City earlier this year.
Mane spent six seasons with the Merseyside-based club, and went on to score 120 goals in 269 appearances, which makes for hugely impressive reading, and that didn’t go unnoticed with the Liverpool supporters, who were frustrated to see him complete a move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022. However, it’s not been the ideal move for the Senegalese international, as he’s been restricted to just 26 starts for Bayern, who are struggling in the defence of their Bundesliga title defence.
The German side are also out of the Champions League, having been well-beaten by free-scoring Manchester City over two legs, although it was Mane’s off-field incident with Sane that stole the headlines during that tie. This disruption seems to have prompted the club into making a decision on the winger’s future, which looks as though it lies elsewhere heading towards the summer transfer window.
Liverpool are one of the clubs rumoured to be eager to sign Mane, although it remains to be seen as to whether the forward would welcome a return to Anfield under the management of Jurgen Klopp. The Reds are sat fifth in the top-flight standings, and will be keen to build on some strong performances of late, which coincidentally has come since some key players returned from injury.
In an exclusive interview with MyBettingSites, former Liverpool and England star John Barnes issued his thoughts on his former club’s rumoured interest in re-signing Mane, and revealed that a return for the 31-year-old shouldn’t be a priority for the Premier League side, who should be focusing on signing a central midfielder instead this summer.
“We have to prioritise midfield. There’s no point going back to Mane when we have so many attacking players.
“I love Sadio and he’s one of my favourite players but when we have Salah, Jota, Nunez, Gakpo and Diaz we have to prioritise midfield next season.”
Liverpool had previously been linked with a move with Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, but the youngster looks set to sign for Real Madrid, in what looks like a dream move for the former Birmingham City man. Liverpool have previously been light on options in the centre of midfield, which has led to questions as to whether they should be strengthening other areas of their squad ahead of this position.
There is no doubting that Mane is a player that would add further quality to Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options, but it’s hard not to echo Barnes’ comments, as Liverpool already have the likes of Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Cody Gakpo to name a few in similar positions, so it’s certainly not an area that the Reds need to look at prioritising in the summer transfer window. Liverpool have conceded over 40 goals this season, which is more than any of their last seven seasons, and so protection for their back four is certainly necessary ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
