Profile: Liverpool’s new £34m man, Sadio Mane

While most of Europe has been gripped about the current goings on in France, it is a French term which has struck the South Coast. Déjà vu.

For Southampton fans over recent years, the summer window has seen countless outgoings from St Mary’s. From Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw in 2014, to Morgan Schneiderlin last season. Now it’s their star Senegalese winger who is departing.

Just like Lambert, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana two years ago, and Nathaniel Clyne one year ago, the destination is Anfield for Sadio Mane.

After helping Saints finish sixth in the Premier League standings, it is a trip to the north west for the Senegal international.

Shoot takes a look at the Saints star as he says “Au Revoir” to St Mary’s and “Bonjour” to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Where did it all start for Mane?

Boren in Sedhiou, a small town in the Casamance area of Senegal, Mane was brought up into a family that didn’t particularly have a fond interest in the beautiful game. Instead as a youngster, his mother and father encouraged him to pray instead. But he continued to adore football, watching the Premier League.

His love for the game was apparent. So much so that, as a youngster, he would even miss school at times. Not to hang round street corners or talk to his friends; but to play football. At the age of 12, the dream of playing Premier League football was one step closer, when he was scouted by the former Stade Bresois 29 forward Mady Toure’s academy – of whom the likes of Papiss Cisse and Diafra Sahko have been unearthed.

Mane holds the record for the Premier League’s fastest-ever hat-trick. Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

By the age of 15, he left his home town to live in the Senegal capital, Dakar. It was here, through the help of his football-mad uncle, that he made his big break. It was clear at this point that this kid was going to make it professional.

What happened next?

As a child, Mane was continuously told that he was the best footballer in the entire city which he grew up in. The ability he shed as a youngster allowed him to make the move to France and then Ligue 2 side, Metz. Making his debut in January 2012, Mane made 19 league appearances in his debut season but after the club suffered regulation, he made the move to Austria.

How did he get to the Premier League?

It was August 31, 2012, and while his future club Southampton secured the signature of Gaston Ramirez, Mane was on the move also. £3.3 million secured Mane’s services to Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg, whom had been impressed by Mane’s performances the season before, despite his former club finishing third from bottom of Ligue 2.

After making his debut in mid-September in a 1-1 draw against Ried, Mane played a huge impact in Salzburg’s good start to the season as he scored a brace in only his third appearance.

His first season at the club simply couldn’t go any better as Mane guided the Red Bulls to second place in the Austrian Bundesliga, gaining qualification into the Champions League.

The following season he made even more of an impact, making 33 league appearances, as well as a further 13 in Europe as well. It was clear, nevertheless, from this moment on – despite Salzburg winning the league by 18 points – that better things were on the cards for the Senegalese international.

Sadio Mane of Southampton in action with Jonny Howson of Norwich City. Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

How has he performed in England?

It was Deadline Day 2014 that Mane made the switch to Southampton to fulfil his dream of playing Premier League football. He initially struggled to make a gigantic impact on the south coast, but after having English lessons twice a week at the Saints’ training complex in Marchwood, his communication skills soon improved.

His first goals came on one of the Saints’ finest days of Premier League football as he netted one of the eight goals in an 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland. Despite it being eventually put down as an own goal, he would soon score his first goal under the guidance of Barcelona great Ronald Koeman, when he converted the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Stoke. Suddenly relegation was not an issue.

The goals kept on coming for the winger, including him hitting the back of the net in games over Chelsea and Arsenal at the beginning of 2015. The end of the 2014-15 season saw him collate a total of 10 goals, including the Premier League’s fastest-ever hat-trick against Aston Villa (2 minutes and 56 seconds) – not a bad record for a player in his debut season in the world’s greatest division.

Mane continued to impress but despite going five months without a goal during the season, the Senegalese forward hit form in the closing stages of the campaign, scoring two goals in a thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Liverpool in March, as well as a hat-trick against Manchester City in May.

What about on the international stage?

Since 2012, and impressive performances in Austria, Mane has became a key figure in the Senegal national team. His first major event for the North African nation was the London 2012 Olympics. Here he started every game of the group stage, including a 1-1 draw against Team GB.

He continued to become a regular wearing the green jersey, however he missed the beginning of the 2015 African Cup of Nations due to a calf injury sustained in a Southampton fixture. Despite making his return later on in the tournament, Senegal were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament – finishing below Ghana and Algeria.

Super Stat: Mane has scored six goals in his last five Premier League games.