£35m Liverpool transfer teases Newcastle United move with three-word message

Mane left Liverpool last summer to join Bayern on an initial £27.4million deal rising to £35million in potential add-ons. But both the 31-year-old and Liverpool experienced underwhelming campaigns on the back of the move.

Mane scored 12 goals in 38 appearances for Bayern in all competitions as they won the 2022-23 Bundesliga title. Meanwhile, Liverpool missed out on Champions Leaguefootball after finishing fifth.

Newcastle pipped The Reds to a top four finish and will be competing in next season’s Champions League instead. And with Mane facing an uncertain future in Germany, Eddie Howe’s side have been linked with a move for the Senegalese international.

While on international duty with Senegal, Mane was approached by Conservative peer and Newcastle supporter Martin Callanan at the team hotel.

Callanan was speaking at the EITI International conference and had a picture taken with Mane, which he tweeted with the caption: “Couldn’t resist asking [Mane] about coming to #NUFC next season, His enigmatic reply: “Never say never!”

While Mane’s response was only brief and arguably merely polite, the fact he chose not to play the rumour down will certainly fuel any transfer speculation further.

Mane scored 120 goals in 269 matches for Liverpool, sharing the Premier League golden boot for the 2018-19 campaign with 22 goals. The forward also has plenty of Champions League experience with Liverpool as United prepare to rub shoulders with Europe’s elite once again next season.