Real Madrid are said to have contacted the representatives of Liverpool winger Sadio Mané to let him know that the Senegal international is their top target for the summer transfer window.
Mané has enjoyed a fantastic few years at Anfield, proving himself as one of the world's top wingers. He finished as the Premier League's joint-top scorer last season, and currently sits on 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that form has caught the eye of Real. According to the Mirror, Zinedine Zidane is eager to bring Mané over to the Santiago Bernabéu as soon as possible, and he has already reached out to the winger's agent to kick-start a potential transfer.
This isn't the first time that Mané has been linked with Real. Back in 2018, France Football claimed that Mané had actually agreed to a transfer, only for Zidane's surprise resignation to bring the whole move to an end.
Mané was said to be keen on the move back then, and it's suggested that he could be open to it now. Real are confident that he would be interested in pursuing a new challenge - assuming Liverpool are eventually awarded the Premier League title this year.
That Sadio smile ♥️ pic.twitter.com/C9gZvJ4lVq
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 13, 2020
That's all well and good, but it's hard to imagine Liverpool being so eager to strike a deal. Mané is one of the best wingers in the world and still has three years on his contract, so they would be well within their rights to demand an astronomical figure.
Real believe that a fee of around €130m would be enough to get the job done, but Liverpool would almost certainly want more than that if they were to part ways with one of the world's top targets.
Are Real going to pay that? Maybe. Their big-money signing of Eden Hazard last summer hasn't gone to plan, so bringing in another big name would go down well among fans, but it's thought that Real would prefer to save their money to bring in Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé in the near future.
The Frenchman has two years remaining on his contract, and if he refuses to pen a new deal, Real hope to strike a deal worth close to €200m in the summer of 2021.
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Source : 90min