The latest transfer rumour links Sadio Mane with a move to Liverpool, but whoever is concocting these rumours does not have a degree in either football or mathematics.
The winner of the 2015/16 season award for made up rumour with the most headlines went to whoever made up the Sadio Mane to Manchester United story last August, within a matter of days Mane's price had shot up from a starting £25 million to £40 million durin the January transfer window.
Their does not seem to be a single shred of evidence that United were interested or even made a bid, even as the season started to reach it's end with Mane only on 3 Premier League goals to his name, the press were kicking in again claiming he would be the saviour of Manchester United's goal scoring problem and suggesting that United were about to move.
Lately the story has been more about Liverpool in for Mane and here it starts to get bizarre.
A few weeks ago Saints and other clubs were linked with Jordan Ibe a man deemed surplus to requirements under Jurgen Klopp and avaialable for around £5 million pounds.
Now Liverpool are rumoured to want Mane, initially the talk was all of the £40 million Sadio Mane and Saints fans were rubbing their hands together of the thought that any club would pay that for Mane, a player who on his day can be blistering, but that day seems only to be selected ones in the last month or so of each season.
The Sunday Express have come up with a corker of a story this morning though, apparently Liverpool are about to offer us Jordan Ibe as a sweetener as part of the deal, now here's the bit you will like.
The offer will be Jordan Ibe plus £10 million pounds !!!!!!!
Now my maths was never good at school, but if Mane is worth say £30 million then are they saying that Jordan Ibe is worth twice that amount in any swap deal. Lets compare Mane scored 11 Premier League goals last season and Ibe in 12 starts and 15 appearances as a sub got 1, that in the final game of the season, indeed in his Liverpool career of 20 starts and 20 subs he still only has that goal to his name, other than that a series of moderately successful lower league loans.
Don't get me wrong Ibe has potential, at £5 million he was worth a punt, but even Ibes Mother would claim he was worth £20 million in the transfer market.
This goes to show how even the so called big media outlets seem to have a team of low grade hacks sitting in a darkened room banging out stories with no real substance and often no sense of reality.
If anyone needed any proof that the soccer press headlines in the national's should never be taken seriously, then the Sunday Express is that proof, if I was the Sports Editor of the Daily Express I would be calling the writer of this article into my office and questioning either his sanity or his sobriety.