Sadio Mané has been linked with a move away from Southampton and the team supposedly most serious for his services is Manchester United as Louis van Gaal, who is under a great amount of pressure at the moment, looks for reinforcement to turn the season around at Old Trafford.
The Senegalese came to Southampton in September 2014 from Red Bull Salzburg with a good goalscoring record. He had just won the league and the cup and you would think that that was enough to prove his worth, but of course there was a lot of doubt regarding his talent since the Austrian championship isn’t deemed as the most competitive of competitions. There is no doubt anymore as in one and a half years, Mané has demonstrated to the Premier League, his frightening ability and potential. The fact that he is just 23 makes things even more exciting as he is still in the phase where you’d expect much more is in store in the future.
His pace, footwork and direct style of play makes him a menace to deal with when he is on song. His tally of 10 league goals in his maiden Premier League campaign accounted for almost a fifth of Southampton’s total goals that helped them qualify for Europa League.
It isn’t surprising to see him linked with a move to United since he possesses a vast range of skills and could help the Red Devils a great deal in their slow-looking attack. He has incredible pace but not just that, his close control on the ball along with total footballing intelligence and vision make him stand out. He is a versatile attacker who can play anywhere across the front line. Anyone who watches Southampton would notice that he is a major source of creation in the team and the attack seems to flow through him on most occasions. He can dribble in really short and tight spaces for himself to move forward, or to knit a clever pass to a fellow attacker. This is something that seems to be sorely missing at Manchester United currently. In the opening months, Juan Mata was thriving and doing the same but even then, Mata lacks the pace that Mané possesses.
A fast and agile attacker would do wonders for Manchester United who, except for the opening 30 minutes against Chelsea, look devoid of any sort of urgency or enthusiasm.
The criticism for him is that he isn’t all that consistent. On his day, he is capable of causing real trouble to any defence in the world, but it often happens that he looks subdued and not threatening enough. From a world-beating performance against Arsenal, he was largely anonymous against West Ham. Of course, it can be argued that there was little gap between the two matches and the best players can be victims of fatigue, but this hasn’t been a one-off thing. Then again, he is 23 years of age and there is a serious probability that this can be improved upon in coming years (just look at Mesut Ozil).
Mané’s dynamism and ability to offer something unpredictable to the opponents coupled with his impressive work rate is what Manchester United are chasing, if they are serious in getting him.
For Southampton, it will be a difficult task keeping hold of him if United come looking for him. Despite all the troubles Manchester United seems to be facing at the moment, the sheer name of the club will be enough to tempt the West African. Not to mention, the monetary lure from United will also be significant as they have the means to offer the player a much more lucrative wage.
It would be a major blow for a club that seems to be becoming a selling ground. Southampton simply can’t afford to, and shouldn’t, sell the player in the winter window, irrespective of the price as it is very difficult to replace players in the winter and the side is not in such a comfortable position that it can afford such a risk.
However, if United’s interests turn serious next summer, it would’t be such a blow as Saints will be able to make a serious profit on the player, assuming they will sell him at least £5-6m more, if not even more, than what they got him for (£10m). And knowing Southampton over the last couple of years, they will be able to use the money to reinvest in a player with similar amount of potential.
Please if u need man u to compete for title or top four u may bring in Sadio Mane
Yes, I agree. He could be a TonyV like singing injecting much needed pace in the final third. He is better than Valencia (In his prime) in terms of crossing and finishing and more importantly he can use both his legs to kick the ball unlike Tony. If we are given option of Mane vs Anderson (Lazio guy who we are linked to), I would prefer Mane considering similar price tags for both.