Newcastle United are tipped as one of three possible Premier League destinations for Sadio Mane who looks set to leave Germany after just one season in the Bundesliga.
At one point Sadio Mane was said to be one of the best players in the world when he was tearing teams apart in the Premier League for Liverpool. However, since his £35million move to Bayern Munich there’s a feeling that he’s lost a bit of his magic.
That seems like a harsh statement, especially when you look at the figures, but that hasn’t stopped Mane being linked with a move back to the Premier League. German site tz.de have mentioned Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United as possible destinations for the Senegalese sensation.
Bayern Munich don’t feel they’ve got the best of Sadio Mane
Mane has managed 12 goals and six assists in 38 appearances this season for Bayern which isn’t a bad return considering he suffered a pretty bad injury which kept him out of the World Cup as well as seven games for his club. The feeling is that his slow recovery is what has hampered career at Bayern and they look set to cut their losses.
The ‘incredible‘ 31-year-old wants to stay and fight for his place at Bayern but it’s thought that a good offer from a Premier League side might be too tempting to turn down.
Newcastle are looking to add at least one winger this summer and if Mane is available he’d be a superb acquisition. Yes, he’s older than what Newcastle would normally be looking at, but his quality will more than make up for that. Eddie Howe would quickly have him back up to peak fitness.
Mane’s wages will be Newcastle’s biggest issue
Given that he went to Bayern Munich for just £35million, Newcastle won’t be expected to pay any more than that to bring him back to England, so as long as his wages are within Newcastle’s cap, this could be a no-brainer move for the Magpies.
However, Mane is currently on £306,000-a-week at Bayern Munich which will be way over Newcastle’s wage cap – they’re in talks to raise Bruno Guimaraes’ wage to £200,000-a-week, and I can’t see them going higher than that for anyone else just yet.
We need players with Champions League experience to help us navigate the tricky season that lies ahead, and as a past winner, Mane brings that, as well as Premier League winning experience having lifted both titles with Liverpool.
They say form is temporary and class is permanent, and this could prove to be a prime example of that. Bring him in, show Bayern Munich what they’ve missed out on this season.
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