The last couple of weeks has confirmed Liverpool’s Sadio Mane as the top transfer target for Bayern Munich. The Senegalese forward will soon tell Liverpool about his desire to leave the club, with Bayern leading the race for his signature. However, the Bavarian club may have to fork out a significant fee for him.
According to The Athletic UK, Liverpool values Mane at €50 million, and they will need a suitable replacement lined before sanctioning his departure. Previously, it was widely reported in Germany and France that Die Roten would be able to sign Mane for €30 million.
Bayern would have hoped for a fee closer to €30 million since Mane has only 12 months left on his contract. The Bavarian club had sanctioned the transfer of Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool for a similar fee after his contract had one year left on it. However, the Merseyside club will be open to keeping Mane for a year instead of losing him for such kind of fee.
In a logical scenario, Bayern will be expecting Liverpool to negotiate a similar fee for Mane as they did with Thiago. However, the situation is completely different for both clubs. Moreover, there is also a difference in the profile of the player involved in both deals.
Die Roten couldn’t afford to lose a player on a free transfer, so they found an agreement with Liverpool. Meanwhile, the Merseyside club can afford to see Mane running down his contract instead of getting a smaller fee. The English clubs enjoy significant revenue from TV deals when compared to other clubs in Europe. The broadcast deal allows them to hold on to players even if they are trying to run down their contracts.
Moreover, Mane is a sound goal-scorer, which further increases his value. The top-quality forwards are bound to cost much more despite their contract situation. Mane is also a versatile forward, which makes him a very tactically flexible player. All these pros about Mane justify Liverpool’s desire to get a much bigger fee for him.
Bayern will be hoping that the cordial relationship between Mane and Liverpool will make his departure and negotiations much smoother. The Senegalese forward wants to experience a new challenge in his career, so a compromise on fee could be reached eventually.
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Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski keeps putting pressure on Bayern to sanction his departure. The Polish striker once again insisted on Monday that his chapter with Die Roten is over. He believes that a departure in the summer is the best possible solution for everyone. The next few weeks for the Bavarian faithful will be intriguing as multiple changes in the squad are likely to take place.