Sadio Mane: Bayern set to table a third bid

Liverpool expect Bayern Munich to make a third bid to meet their valuation of around £42m for Sadio Mane.

The fee would trigger their own £68m plus £17m in add-ons bid for Benfica’s Darwin Nunez. Manchester United remain in the frame for Nunez but described reports of Erik Ten Hag meeting the player’s agent Jorge Mendes as ‘nonsense’.

Liverpool confirmed that Divock Origi, who is joining AC Milan, Ben Woodburn, Loris Karius and Sheyi Ojo will all be leaving this month.

The Reds have already rejected two bids for Mane from the Bundesliga champions, the latest of which was a £30m offer tabled on Wednesday.

Liverpool treated it the same way as the one they received at the weekend, dismissing it out of hand with the feeling that the offer was derisory.

Bayern raised their initial bid from £21.5m to £23.5m, but the other £6.5m would only come outright if Mane won three Champions League crowns at the Allianz Arena in addition to as many Ballon d’Or awards.

The German champions are trying to get £43m from Barcelona for Robert Lewandowski and Liverpool believe that figure is reflective of Mane’s worth. The Catalan giants, intriguingly, are also interested in the ex-Southampton striker.

But it is clear Mane’s six-year spell at Anfield is coming to an end, with 22-year-old Uruguay forward Nunez set to effectively be his direct replacement.

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The Reds are expected to smash their £75m transfer record they paid for Virgil van Dijk in an £85m deal for the Benfica striker.

Nunez would represent another quality addition to an attacking line already filled with talent, having scored 34 goals in 41 matches across all competitions for the Portuguese giants last season.