Charlie Eccleshare recently revealed that Spurs missed out on the chance to sign Liverpool star Sadio Mane back in 2016. This came from the latest episode of The View From The Lane, a Tottenham Hotspur podcast for The Athletic, which also included the likes of Jack Pitt-Brooke and James Maw.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Could Dier and Ndombele go?‘ was Liverpool winger Sadio Mane. It is suggested by Eccleshare that Spurs were close to signing the former Southampton winger back in 2016, but were beaten to his signing by Liverpool, where he has, of course, gone on to win the Champions League and Premier League with Jurgen Klopp’s side (per Transfermarkt).
Here’s what Eccleshare had to say about the Senegalese international:
“Sadio Mane was someone in 2016, who they wanted and that’s the summer, just touching on what you were saying there Jack about what they wanted. They really wanted a wide forward, they went in for Mane, they were priced out essentially.”
TIF Thoughts…
Liverpool bought Mane from the Saints in the summer of 2016 for £37.08 million (per Transfermarkt), and since then his value has sky-rocketed, with the 28-year-old currently valued at £108 million.
In his time in Merseyside, the winger has contributed an impressive 78 goals and 34 assists in 163 appearances (per Transfermarkt), so it is perhaps safe to assume that he would have been a hit in North London had he joined Spurs rather than Liverpool.
Should Spurs have just paid the necessary fee for Mane?
Yes
No
Perhaps the Lilywhites should have just bitten the bullet and paid the fee Southampton wanted back in 2016, as £37.08 million could certainly be considered a bargain when you consider how impressive he has been during his time with Liverpool.