Sadio Mane is on the verge of sealing a move to Bayern Munich with the club preparing an improved offer in line with Liverpool’s £42.5m valuation.
A fresh round of discussions between all parties has been pencilled in for Friday with Hasan Salihamidzic, the sporting director of the German champions, determined to wrap up a deal for their priority target.
Bayern have been confident of landing the Senegal international having received a verbal commitment from him last month. They believed it enabled them to pull off a cut-price deal, especially considering the Darwin Nunez development.
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A look at Sadio Mane’s best goals in the Premier League
The Bundesliga club also pointed to their ‘soft’ negotiations with Liverpool for Thiago, selling the midfielder for an initial £20m with a potential £5m in add-ons.
Their rebuffed opening proposals for Mane were similar – £25m and £23.5m with £6.5m in unlikely extras – despite his availability, explosiveness, and guaranteed decisiveness in the final third demanding a higher fee.
It has now dawned on Bayern that despite their strong hand and the fact Liverpool have already recruited a replacement in Nunez, they will need to submit a serious bid that matches the asking price.
The Anfield side want to recoup their £34m outlay on Mane when he joined from Southampton in the summer of 2016, plus a small profit.
Liverpool feel £42.5m is an overly reasonable figure for a Ballon d’Or candidate in the final year of his contract.
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Sadio Mane he will do what the people want when responding to an online poll in Senegal which said 60-70 per cent of people want him to leave Liverpool
The club prides themselves on selling well but do not want to be an obstacle to players seeking a new challenge that have served them superbly.
Mane has been core to the club’s success over the past six seasons so will depart with their blessing and gratitude.
Liverpool have been conscious of needing to evolve without sentiment as a driving factor and have efficiently recalibrated their attack with the recruitment of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Nunez.
Which positions are Liverpool targeting?
Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor:
Liverpool will look to strengthen their forward line this season. The fact they even spoke to Kylian Mbappe shows how intent they are to add further quality up top.
They have already secured the signature of Darwin Nunez, but it makes sense with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino entering the final year of their contracts. The departure of Mane, who also had one year left on his deal, and Divock Origi having already decided to go, makes reinforcements in that area a priority.
With Fabio Carvalho due to officially start his Liverpool career on July 1, any further overhaul in midfield could depend on the futures of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino. Oxlade Chamberlain made 29 appearances in a 63 game season and hasn’t played since the FA Cup win over Forest in March, while Minamino made just 24 appearances and both could look for more regular first-team opportunities. Oxlade Chamberlain is another player with just one year left on his contract.
Strengthening the back-line doesn’t appear to be a priority with Ibrahima Konate offering another option to Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk while Joe Gomez is able to cover right-back and centre-back.
Liverpool fixtures: Reds begin at Fulham
Liverpool begin the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a lunchtime trip to newly-promoted Fulham on Saturday August 6.
It will be the fourth season in a row in which Liverpool have started a new campaign against a Premier League newcomer.
But after then facing Crystal Palace, Jurgen Klopp’s side will take on Man Utd at Old Trafford on August 20.
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Former Liverpool striker Neil Mellor reacts to their Premier League fixtures including early ‘tough games’ against big rivals
September will feature away trips to both Everton and Chelsea in September and Liverpool will also face back-to-back clashes against Arsenal and champions Man City on October 8 and 15 respectively.
Liverpool’s final game before the season stops temporarily for the winter World Cup will be against Southampton at Anfield on November 12 before returning to action at Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Reds then host arch-rivals United on March 4, before tricky-looking clashes in consecutive weekends at City (April 1) and against Arsenal at Anfield (April 8), before finishing the season at Southampton.
Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 10 and closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
