Reports: £38.5m ace in Tottenham talks, meeting held with Pochettino at training ground

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Published on:

11 Feb 2017, 6:26 am

By Alex Stevens

Sadio Mane held talks at Tottenham's training ground before signing for Liverpool, according to a report.

The Times claim the Senegal wide forward met with Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino at the club's Enfield headquarters last summer to discuss a transfer from Southampton.

It is said that negotiations between Mane and Tottenham collapsed because the Londoners could not meet his wage demands.

There is no mention of the fee being the sticking point, even though the Telegraph report that the total sum Southampton eventually secured from Liverpool for the player could be worth up to £38.5million depending upon their Champions League prospects.

Tottenham did eventually make a mega-money signing of their own when they smashed their transfer record to sign Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle on deadline day for £30million.

Sissoko has flopped since making the move from St James' Park, with his 21 appearances yielding just four assists and not a single goal.

The attacking midfielder has also been criticised by Pochettino for his lack of work rate, although the manager has named his regularly in the matchday squad over the last two months even if he has failed to nail down a place in the starting XI.

By contrast, Mane has been a huge hit at Liverpool, and was one member of a front three that set the Premier League alight in the first half of the season.

The Merseysiders faltered badly when the 24-year-old was at the African Cup of Nations last month and terminal damage appears to have been done to their title challenge.

Mane has scored nine goals and supplied seven assists in 23 matches for the Merseysiders, with all nine of his strikes coming in the Premier League.

In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy has lined up the next Spurs arrival as the deal is all but done.

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Sadio Mane

Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton

Mauricio Pochettino