Leave Manchester United alone, Zinedine Zidane has shifted his focus again on Liverpool as sources says that he direly needs the services of Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
Mohamed Salah has now gone seven matches without scoring and his Senegalese team-mate has now taken centre-stage of Liverpool’s two-pronged assault on the Premier League title and Champions League.
In June 2018, French media reported that Real Madrid had been working on a deal to bring Mane to the Bernabeu but that those plans fell by the wayside when Zinedine Zidane handed in his resignation to Florentino Perez at the end of May.
The 26-year-old was on target against Los Blancos in last season’s Champions League final defeat in Kiev.
Now the French publication say that Real Madrid have reignited their interest in Mane following Zidane‘s reappointment.
The former Southampton man is joint second in the Premier League scoring charts with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Harry Kane and Salah, with 17 goals.
He is only one shy of leader Sergio Aguero and without penalties, he is the division’s top scorer.
Zidane is believed to have been promised a war chest of around £300million to reinvigorate the fortunes of Real.
It’s likely that he’ll be willing to delegate a large percentage of that budget to try and prise Mane away from Merseyside.
But the task at hand will prove extremely difficult.
Mane signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool in November and was the last member of the Reds’ spellbinding attacking trio to put pen to paper on a new deal in 2018.
“I am very happy, very happy to extend my time at Liverpool,” Mane told Liverpool’s official website upon signing.
“It is a great day for me and now I am looking forward to everything – to helping the team, to helping the club achieve our dreams and, especially, to win trophies.
“I’ve always said, when I knew I had a chance to come here I didn’t have to think twice. The right club in the right moment and with the right coach as well. I came here and was very happy.
“For me, I have made the best decision in my career.”
Those words from Mane do not suggest he is thinking about leaving the club anytime soon.
He again reiterated in January that he is currently ‘very happy’ with life at Liverpool.
“Speculation is part of football. You just learn to live with it and not to take it too seriously,” he told World Soccer magazine.
“All I can say is that my only concern is Liverpool.
“Mo, Bobby… it seemed like everyone was signing contracts and they were saying: ‘Hey Sadio, when are you going to sign?’ I said to each of them: ‘Don’t worry, bro, I will sign’.
“And what did I do? I signed… so they are pleased now!
“I’m very happy here and I think people are happy with me too. We want to write our names alongside the many great ones in the story of this club. Hopefully it’s the beginning of something special.”