Saints are being reported to have turned down a £30 million pound offer from Manchester United for Sadio Mane

Several media sources are leading today with the story that Saints have turned down a £30 million pound offer from Manchester united for striker Sadio Mane with Chelsea waiting in the background.

Saints will though be in a dilemma over Mane in the fact that if it is true about the size of the offer it will be fast approaching a fee where the size of it far exceeds Mane's actual value to Southampton Football Club.

Under normal circumstances Saints would be very tempted to take the offer and use it to continue the rebuilding of the squad, however with so many player having left over the last 18 months, the club are under fire from some sections of their support to show that they are the ones calling the shots.

For those supporters that means keeping Mane at the club no matter what and the reality is that should the fee rise to £35 or even £40 million it would represent very good business for a player who has clearly had his head turned and is not producing the goods for Saints with anything like the consistency a player of his calibre should be.

So Saints have to decide whether they should take a good offer now or hold out just to prove a point and end up losing him anyway in the summer for a far lower price.

Manchester United and Lois Van Gaal in particular are clearly desperate to make big money signings to try and kick start their season and ensure that they make the Champions league places, desperate times call for desperate measures and United will be willing to push mane's price up to a far higher level in the frenzy of the January transfer window than they will be willing to do in the relative calm of the summer.

Photo: Action Images

SaintBrock added 12:00 - Jan 7 £30m????? You are kidding, right? I do not believe one word of it, nobody is that stupid!
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GeordieSaint added 12:29 - Jan 7 I only live 15 mins away from old Trafford. I will come down and pick him up for 35 mill.
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saintmark1976 added 12:29 - Jan 7 If this is correct,and it is a very big if,then take the money. Both Mane and Wanyama have recently been disrespectful to their fellow players the fans and the whole of Southampton F C. It should be remembered that both have been regular players in a team that has only managed to scrape 4 points out of the last 24.Clearly if they are as talented as their inflated egos suggest then we would have had a much better points return.Put simply they are just not that good and if Man Unt,Arsenal or Spurs want them at ridiculous prices then more fool them.

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saintwonston added 12:34 - Jan 7 Nearly all the reports start of with the words ' it is reported or claimed' but it is never said who or where the info comes from. As has been said numerous times unless saints make a statement don't believe a word.
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schatfield added 12:35 - Jan 7 Daily mail talk again? If not, and it is actually true, bite their hands off! Or better still, do a swap deal and cash for Januzaj who has just returned to them from loan.
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arthurfane added 12:41 - Jan 7 Why do you think it will be a much lower price in the summer Nick? Yes Mané has had his head turned but when the window slams shut I believe he'll be back to his best and has at least another 10 or so goals in him. We still won't be under pressure to sell him in the summer due to his long contract, and I believe, whilst the Jan transfer window usually leads to super inflated prices, he will be worth just as much, if not more in the summer. I disagree strongly with SaintBrock and SaintsMark - he is the most talented player we have, is still only 23, has a long contract and can change games in an instant. Yes he hasn't been doing that an awful lot lately, but he is absolute quality and I think Saints are absolutely correct in turning down £30m if they have as reported...

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1970 added 13:38 - Jan 7 Mane should be attracting attention from clubs that are not struggling or desperate such as Real or Bayern, Utd should be giving us 30 million just for ruining our season with the constant tapping up since the start of the season it's clear his head has been turned, Utd are so desperate they will pay any amount, they also know in a couple of seasons there will only be three places for qualification to the champions league and with the competition in the premier league so fierce they may not qualify, which will be great to watch, we should keep Mane and Wanyama until we find a foreign club to take them coyr great news about Forster .

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BoondockSaint added 13:42 - Jan 7 Saints "continue the rebuilding of the squad"? Don't you mean "continue the downsizing of the club'? "Continue to bring in players that see us as a stepping stone to the clubs they dream of playing for"? Hold out for more. His "actual value" to Saints is more than Rooney's to ManU. He is the only player we have that is a threat to other teams. Remember the Fastest Hat Trick Ever? VG is desperate for a striker as the ones he has are crap. Chelsea waiting in the wings? So what's the rush? Let them and ManU and anyone else bid the price up. Image him on Arsenal or ManCity? None of the 4 Money Bag Clubs want to see him on any of the other 3. Nick you defend players who don't produce saying "they are not used to the league" or "they contribute in other ways", but now when it suits you, you down play Mane's talent. You sound like a used car salesman talking up a car for sale explaining why it is so expensive, but when the same car comes in for a trade-in you say it's crap and not worth anything. Look, the way the rest of the team is playing, we could have Messi and Ronaldo playing on this team and they would be discouraged, because every time they put a ball into the area, Shane Long would put it over the net and if they scored, Yoshida would hand the ball over to the other team to let them score!

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IWOZTHERE added 15:50 - Jan 7 I for one am a bit confused about my own feelings on Wanyama and Mane. I've had a bit to say about the number of quality outgoings and more so about the lack of quality coming in. Losing these two doesn't worry me too much except that I'm still concerned as to just what would replace them.In our current situation, given VW's performances and players available, we can cope, and invest in a position where we are weak. Mane is a 'one off'. We can't afford to let him go even for ridiculous money unless we have a TOP replacement. The 'finished article', not 'one for the future', and I don't trust the board to be brave enough to pay what that would cost! Other than that I'm getting disheartened about the whole affair and beginning to think Tell them both to sod off, We're already deep in it, another couple of inches won't make any difference!

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kingolaf added 16:20 - Jan 7 Why accept their first offer? Ronald had said he won't be sold this month, so they can all f*ck off until the Summer.
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jmsaint added 16:20 - Jan 7 For a player as frustratingly inconsistent as mane, £30mil is a massive over estimate. He disappears whenever the team is in trouble, and only produces when we are well on top. He's is maybe £15-20M at best. However, I don't think the club can afford to let him go unless it's ludicrously high, I.e. £40-50M. We have made a big statement about 'noone leaving in January' and if we fold then more players will be targeted. Ideal situation, £45M offer, goes, is a flop and everyone realised offering ridiculous amounts of money for saints players made to look good by a good system and over inflated by the media is a bad policy and we will get to keep more in the future.

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Consigliere added 17:19 - Jan 7 Radio 5 Live were saying this afternoon that RC has told these two that they can sit in the stands and watch the game from there if they don't want to play - he isn't selling! I hope this is true. As I have been banging on about for ages, it isn't just a matter of principle, its a matter of taking a long term business decision and view of the role of each and every player. They and their agents need to learn a sharp lesson - you do as you are damn well told. All power to you Ron, we are four square behind you!

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SaintBrock added 17:56 - Jan 7 In fact, Ron has just told us that Mane told the club he is very happy here an dis not agitating for a move and all the rest is pie in the sky press speculation. RK also said that he had spoken with both players and its all in the past now. Mane will start on Saturday
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SanMarco added 18:11 - Jan 7 Not for me to suggest editorial policies for those who run this excellent site but why don't we just ignore all this media/agent generated nonsense. One point: " the club are under fire from some sections of their support to show that they are the ones calling the shots". Wouldn't ALL supporters favour that re transfers?? The number of departures over the past couple of years IS an issue that needs to be addressed and selling star players in January is hardly the way to do it. If he really is worth 30m now then he is welcome to play well until May and we will get even more for him - if we choose to sell...

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sholingred added 19:52 - Jan 7 Not enough money,if Sterling is worth 50 million mane is worth more,who is going to replace him.Then I will be worried about staying up.We need to replace him now not when everyone knows we have money when he is sold.
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SanMarco added 21:18 - Jan 7 A relevant little article: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jan/07/saido-mane-southampton-manc
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TimSaint added 01:25 - Jan 8 Not bad for initial offer, so if they really want him and it is not just press/agent talk, then they will be back with an improved offer. In a recent post match interview, Ron said that Sadio was not for sale in January, even for 100 Million, so there you go guys, offer us 101 Million, or wait til the summer. It will be interesting to see what team is fielded on Saturday, whether there are any more player antics and if further players are rested. At least then we will get some idea of who doesn't want to get cup tied and who could be next to be linked with a move. Saying that though, the fact that we have another game on Wednesday will be the reason for any restings, as Big Fat Sam has already suggested for his team changes at Arse.

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