Liverpool Reportedly Target Sadio Mané Transfer After Götze Pursuit Crumbles

A recent Liverpool tradition could continue if the club's reported interest in attacker Sadio Mané carries any weight.

After purchasing Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton over the previous two summer transfer windows, the Reds are apparently focused on signing Mané, who rode a hot first half to lead his club with 15 goals in all competitions this season.

Though the Guardian billed Mané as a like-for-like replacement of a once promising Götze move, which has been derailed over the past week, the two are completely different players. Plus, Mané is valued at a price "significantly more than the £20m earmarked for Götze" given that his contract runs through 2018 and Southampton are eager to hold on to him.

It would be an odd decision to pay that kind of cuckoo banana land transfer fee for a player who is older than Götze at 24 and without the same impressive career resume. He's a solid player but probably not good enough to be the main signing of a pivotal transfer window for Liverpool.

Still, this is a rumor that seems to have slightly more legs than the average transfer story and will be something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.