And Lester Piggott died.
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I’m not sure you spend £40m on Diaz if Mane has say 2-3 years left on his deal or you’re confident he’s staying, especially as centre mid is an area that needs some investment. Might just be me but that urgency to get the Diaz deal was a pretty big indicator there was a possibility of this occuring.
As for the journalists, I think at this point there’s so many going with it that we’re probably in “no smoke without fire” territory. The interview Mane gave was also less than convincing that he was staying.
Hope they’re all wrong but I fear not. It’s likely his last big contract and a last big move whilst we do need to start planning for life without those original front three so maybe the timing is right all round.
At least we’ve faith in the recruitment team to find us the right replacement.
I think you do, because he’s quite clearly a player that our scouting team has identified as a great asset, regardless of Mané’s status.
The urgency comes from the fact that Spurs were close to a deal, at a valuation that we would be more than happy with.
EDIT: To clarify, it’s not about sticking fingers up in their face, but the fact that he was available and we could get him in.
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I don’t get this sort of thinking from fans. A Klopp player getting pissed off at another player for contract talks and feelings of not being appreciated? I highly doubt it.
Let’s say this was true. I would then argue that Mane had lost the plot, and selling would be the right thing.
Sometimes it may be just mundane (to some) like wanting to experience a new league.
If we are to speculate, then I think a more reasonable debate would be why our starters when they approach 30 and a year left on contact, seem to want to move on (Gini, Mane, Salah).
Maybe, just maybe, it could be our policy on over 30 year olds and what we can offer that is tipping the balance for seeking elsewhere.
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I think the natural counterpoint to that would be Henderson, Milner, and Thiago.
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This doesn’t worry me in the slightest. I think we can put together a number of reasonable assumptions that may indicate what is on his mind.
It’s his last big contract and he knows our offer.
Our offer is very unlikely to change over the next 12 months - but what other clubs are willing to offer him may very well decline during that space.
He wants to keep playing International football as long as he can.
He feels a financial responsibility to support his community back home.
He has already been here 7 or 8 years and sees the team is facing a rebuild with perhaps some of his friends moving on.
Moving now on a fee also helps the club with that rebuild.
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I just think left wing was probably our strongest position in terms of depth. Mane, Jota, Origi, Carvalho all but guaranteed to come in this summer. £40m to add Diaz and then move Mane to CF seemed indulgent by our usual standards.
Whatever the motive, having Diaz settled in and hitting the ground running certainly makes me feel less concerned by Mane going.
I see Sadio has his own transfer thread open now so probably best we take this over there if you know how to quote post between threads???
Why? Salah was offered a new contract on massive wages last summer. Mane hasn’t been offered anything like the terms Mo was. Would Mane be wrong to expect parity with Mo? Not for me, they are as good as each other.
Probably because we are Liverpool fans first and foremost and if a player says he doesn’t want to play for your club any more then it feels shit. Also his interview this week has turned out to be a bit of a shit show and I’m sure that has left a bitter taste in a lot of fans mouths.
Couldn’t agree more. After the initial emotion wore off this is exactly how I am interpreting all of this.
Sadio expressing his desire to change his life’s journey and try something new and better his income, while at the same time doing it at this moment which allows the club a modest level financial return to invest in players transitioning his departure.
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If he does go…then we need someone with a bit of muscle and beef to take his place…to fight for the ball…pls don’t take on 1st man offered some piddly poncy player we need someone willing to take on defenders…
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It’s one thing that I had been thinking about for a while, that we do have a huge number of left sided forwards. If Mané is going, I suspect this has been known for a while and would explain the Díaz signing - just that they were forced to bring it forward.
That potentially means that we won’t see a direct Mané replacement. We are more likely to see a right winger or goal poacher rather than Mané 2.0.
I’ll be sorry to see Mané go as he has been a cracking player for us (give or take his temper) but he has given us his best years and that has been a privilege to watch.
I think the signing of Diaz wasn’t done with any particular player in mind. I think he was signed because all three would be gone by the end of the next season and he (Diaz) was a spectacular player who would just help rebuild but will also add a different dimension to our game.
In fact, when Mane started to play centrally I thought Firmino would be gone this summer and Mane would take the true/false #9 spot.
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We need an out and out goalscorer. As brilliant as Mané (and Salah , and Bobby) have been , there have been periods when the three of them couldn’t buy a goal , which has cost us dearly. Fuck I wish we could have got Haaland instead of those twats.
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Only on this forum could someone say that the guy who set the Premier League goalscoring record is not an “out and out goalscorer”. 
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We finished the season with 94 league goals though. And, as is often criticized, not that many from midfield to prop up that tally. Sure, you;re talking about down periods not overall production, but show me a “goal scorer” who doesnt have those? Kane didnt score this season for Spurs until the middle of October at a point where nearly a quarter of the season had already gone.
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Kane had one goal and an assist (against Newcastle,) in the league in the first half of the season and then nothing until playing us in December.
Mo does need a lot of shots to get goals, maybe we just want someone who is more clinical to add to the front line. Not taking our chances this season has been why we’ve fired blanks in every final despite having 60+ shots.
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Did you watch the game last night ?
How good were the chances created? Honestly, I think the larger story in those finals was how we played with the handbrake still on. Even last night, it felt to me like Courtois really only made one goal stopping save you might not reasonably expect him to make (Mo’s right footer in the second half).
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