Why Sadio Mane Would Be the Perfect Manchester United January Signing

Sadio Mane represents one of football’s most wanted men at the moment for all the right reasons.

Europe’s top clubs have been sniffing around him for months, considering the possibility of relieving Southampton of his talents. And with January just around the corner, rumours have begun to intensify once more.

Late in August, in the summer window, Manchester United tried unsuccessfully to poach him from the south-coast club, per BBC Sport, prompting Ronald Koeman to state defiantly: “He’s not for sale.” He went on to start the season strongly and participate in early round UEFA Europa League ties, fully committed to the cause.

But after the Senegalese forward put in a masterful performance at Stamford Bridge in October, Koeman admitted the club would need to prepare themselves for his possible exit, per the Daily Echo. His dominant display that day will have answered any lingering questions over whether Mane can deal the damage against the best as well as the rest.

It is no surprise then to see Manchester United back in for him, according to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, while Bayern Munich are showing an interest too. The former are a club who are desperately in need of speed and excitement in the forward areas, and their interest seems just as genuine as it did in August.

Mane: The Player

Southampton fans have been enamoured with Mane since the day he set foot on the St. Mary’s turf for the first time; since the moment they realised what a wonderfully tricky, quick and productive threat he can be from an advanced midfield role.

He was a little difficult to forecast as a player when checking his Red Bull Salzburg tape due to the incredibly specific, wacky system then-manager Roger Schmidt ran at the club. There were very few things that were directly translatable to a more “normal” system and formation due to the complex role he played.

But what qualities did shine through were his ability to make the difference—consistently—and his willingness to press and work for the team off the ball. Just a pretty playmaker he is not; he’ll run the hard yards to supplement the twists and tricks.

Credit: 6 Live

What may be seen as the nadir of his season so far—a late sending off for two yellow cards at Anfield just moments after forcing a dramatic equaliser—is very much indicative of him as a player. The goal was a product of simply never taking his foot off the gas, and the second yellow, for an iffy-looking lunge, was simply him trying his utmost to fulfil his duty as a defender.

On the ball he’s as flashy as anyone in the league, with remarkable top-end speed able to send him clear in behind, stunning agility making him an incredible threat with the ball at his feet, and an ever-improving final ball, finish and decision-making process. He’s not perfect but he’s still improving, and he’s only 23.

He scored the Premier League’s quickest-ever hat-trick (time between first and third goals) at the tail end of last season, netting three in just two minutes and 56 seconds, per the Mirror. That generated a certain amount of hype, and there’s no doubt he’s been the fulcrum of Saints’ attack this season.

Mane has three goals and five assists from 12 Premier League starts this season, per WhoScored.com, netting at Anfield and Stamford Bridge, and assisting against Manchester City and Manchester United. His end-product remains incomplete, but while he’ll likely never reach Arjen Robben’s level, he could come in just below, and he does enough in front of goal to justify a big fee.

B/R’s Dean Jones revealed last month that it would take at least £30 million to pry Mane away from the south coast this January, and that the player is stalling over a new contract in order to assess his options.

Mane: The Projection

Once upon a time, Mane was seen only as a winger, but Koeman has unlocked him in a central, floating role this season to great effect. He provides the same dynamism and drive through the middle of the pitch that Raheem Sterling did for England and Liverpool, and that Yannick Bolasie recently did for Crystal Palace when they mauled Newcastle United.

Mane’s technically very neat, uses the ball very well in tight spaces, gets his head up to deliver passes at the right time and has the burst to wriggle free of challenges. All told, he’s exactly the type of electric threat Manchester United need...but Bayern Munich do not.

With Robben, Franck Ribery, Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman on the books in Munich, a fifth dribbling threat isn’t entirely necessary. Injuries crippled them late last season when both Robben and Ribery went down, but that’s why they secured the latter two—to hold them over even when the injury bug bites.

United, though, lack that dynamism due to early struggles of Memphis Depay. The Dutchman, widely seen as a young Cristiano Ronaldo type after some blistering Eredivisie displays, has settled slowly and has been extremely wasteful on the ball thus far.

Credit: Sky Sports

With Ashley Young stuck at full-back half the time and Anthony Martial shoved out to the wing because of Wayne Rooney’s inexplicably guaranteed central role, Louis van Gaal’s system has been thoroughly devoid of spark.

Mane wouldn’t be given the freedom of the pitch at Old Trafford like he is at St. Mary’s Stadium, so his role would change a little and that could blunt him by 10 percent, but he’d be just the sort of exciting, attacking pick-me-up that could take this United side to the next level offensively.

The one con against Mane is his propensity to dive, or simulate. United already have one player with an extremely embarrassing tendency to trick referees into decisions—Young—and Mane, while not as bad, has a reputation for it and could do a far better job of staying on his feet.

But that demerit is far outweighed by the brilliance he is capable of providing, and with the player’s consistency levels steadily improving, now is the perfect time to strike for Van Gaal. After all, the price will go up again in the summer if a deal can’t be reached.

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