Sadio Mané Reportedly Wanted By Bayern Munich

Liverpool forward Sadio Mané has had quite a year. The Senegalese forward has captained his national team to the African Cup of Nations title as well as a World Cup berth, and has been in red-hot form for club team Liverpool during the winter and spring. One of the most interesting facets of Mané this season has been his smooth transition into regularly playing as a center forward after spending most of his career with the Reds on the left wing.

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić is believed to be a big fan of Mané. With Robert Lewandowski moving on, the German club will be looking to find someone who can replace his goal productivity.

After the Bayern Munich match on Sunday, Salihamidžić was asked if his club would be looking to make a splash in the transfer market this summer.

“Let yourself be surprised,” he responded.

“We have to see what is possible and what is not. We have creative ideas.”

According to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Salihamidžić has identified Sadio Mané as his desired transfer target this offseason.

Like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané also has only one year left on his contract after this season. Unlike Salah, there has been very little news about Mané and his camp discussing a contract extension. Again according to Sky Sports, the negotiations have not gone smoothly. Though there has been no contact between the two clubs, Mané’s agents were supposedly held talks with Salihamidžić this past weekend.

Sports Bild reporter, Christian Falk, however, has said that Mané was not a topic of discussion when Salihamidzic and a representative from Mané’s agency met in Mallorca.

More than anything, this whole thing sounds like agents trying to drum up a narrative to squeeze out additional wages or an increased length of contract. With no direct sources from either club or trusted sources from either club, this has all the makings of an agent leak.

Regardless, however, this will be a big summer towards shaping Liverpool’s plans for the future of their front line. The long-standing attacking trident of Mané, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino all have contracts expiring in 2023. All three of the players have turned 30, or will turn 30, this year. Younger attacking players like Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have come in and performed well when called upon, and there are several youth options coming up from the Academy that may be ready to play a role in the senior team in a couple of years.

It would not be surprising to see one, if not two, of the original front three sold this summer if the right price is met. Otherwise, if Liverpool cannot secure contract extensions, they could potentially have all three players leave on a free transfer the summer of 2023.