Southampton admits that Manchester United are interested in Sadio Mane, according to the BBC, but claims they have not received a bid for the 23-year-old Senegal native.
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Now, claims of a rejected $24 million bid last week are being countered with “No bid, but yes, interest”.
Meanwhile, a Russian report claims United is looking into Dinamo Moscow striker Aleksandr Kokorin. The 6-foot forward has 38 goals in 165 games for Dinamo, and eight goals in 32 caps for Russia.
From Metro:Russian news agency TASS claim that Kokorin’s representative has confirmed the talks, and that a move could happen before the 31st August, with a club source reportedly saying that Dinamo are willing to sell.
Tottenham are also understood to be interested in the striker, as are Dinamo’s domestic rivals Zenit.
Mane scored 10 times in his debut season at Southampton, but has put in a string of increasingly electric performances as his time in the Premier League has gone on. He also has 22 caps with 6 goals at the international level
Mane is a winger. Manchester United have a lot of those, but given the club’s two-year spending spree it’s Louis van Gaal’s world and we’re just paying rent. Perhaps LVG sees Mane as an out-and-out striker, or just depth for the UEFA Champions League.
Unfamiliar with Kokorin? He’s pretty good (though not as prolific as you’d like in a top-notch striker):