Jamie Carragher has suggested that Chelsea might be one of the teams monitoring Sadio Mane’s contract situation at Liverpool.
Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher thinks Liverpool could lose Mane to their Premier League rivals if they don’t agree to pay him what he’s asking for.
“Will Chelsea even be monitoring Mane’s situation and thinking: ‘If Liverpool can’t afford to pay him what he wants to sign another deal, we might as well join the long queue for his signature?’ wrote the former Liverpool defender.
“That sounds unrealistic. But when it was suggested Bayern Munich were interested in signing Mane this summer, my first reaction was ‘what club in the world wouldn’t be?”
Carra previously joked that he’d personally block Mane from leaving the club. Now he claims that the Senegalese could fit into any team in the world.
“If Mane leaves Liverpool, you would expect Real Madrid and Barcelona to be making enquiries, too. Because world-class forwards with his pace, skill and versatility are so rare. Mane could fit into any profile of a team,” he said.
Mane makes his case
Going back even six months, perhaps Carragher’s reaction might have been a little different. Since February, Mane has been fantastic for Liverpool. Before then, he wasn’t having his best season.
Winning the AFCON has given him a new lease of life. It’s also feasible that with contract negotiations slated for the end of the season, Mane is reminding Liverpool of his worth.
Either way, the 30-year-old is on fire right now. On this kind of form, Carragher is right, there isn’t a team on the planet that wouldn’t have him. If reports this week are to be believed, some of them are already making moves.
Avoiding another Torres situation
Of course, that would stretch to Chelsea too. They have form for poaching one of Liverpool’s top talents – no Reds fan will need reminding of Fernando Torres’ departure in 2011.
In any other time, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility that they would have one eye on the situation. Their ownership state of affairs is muddying the waters though. Should Mane entertain the idea of leaving for Stamford Bridge, there’s no guarantee of what they can offer him in terms of wages.
Largely, it’s irrelevant who is and is not interested in Mane. Liverpool need to make sure they offer him the best deal they can manage and ensure his future is at Anfield.
Carragher thinks Liverpool could lose Mane if they don’t, and that would be a mighty blow indeed.
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