The media are determined to stir up interest in a move for Sadio Mane to Manchester United and to do so are willing to slap fictional price tags on the players head.

That bastion of truth The Sun is claiming that Louis Van Gaal is planning a multi million pound raid on St Mary's to land striker Sadio Mane.

When the deal was first mooted back in October it was generally agreed that United's interest was a smokescreen to try and placate supporters who were up in arms that the Old Trafford club had failed in several high profile transfer chases, most notably when Barcelona star Pedro who at one time had looked nailed on for United, joined Chelsea instead.

United then leaked that they were chasing several other options including Mane, the United fans were dismayed and many questioned why the club should think losing Pedro could be placated by a player like Mane whose track record was slightlu underwhelming.

That has not deterred The Sun who seem determined to resurrect the deal and are now claiming it is back on, bizarrely also saying that Saints have slapped a £30 million price tag on Mane's head.

If United were to offer Saints £30 million then to be blunt, it might be hard to turn it down, in that it represents a significant profit on a player signed for £10 million barely 15 months ago and whose form at times has been patchy, even as recently as February/March there were those who questioned Mane's ability and certainly Manchester United fans were not impressed with it,

Mane is a vital part of Saints squad and on his day is impressive, but every player has his price, the newspaper in question has a certain reputation for making up stories, we will find out soon if this is another fabricated story as their detractors claim or if there is any substance.

Photo: Action Images

perazi added 22:05 - Nov 12 Nick, the part of your piece I agree with entirely is "Mane is a vital part of Saints squad" - I would say though that he is very impressive most days he plays for SFC, not just "on his day". Even if these press stories are partly true, I hope the Club does all it can to keep Sadio and improve his contract. The lad has exceptional, unique skills, and without him our attack is severely blunted. I reckon he's a $40 mill. plus player, and even with a big wedge of cash he would not be easy to replace.

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Saint_bezzer added 22:17 - Nov 12 Sadio Mane is without doubt Saints' best player. I think it was clear in the summer that if we managed to keep hold of him for the the whole of this season then we have done well. I say enjoy watching him in a saints shirt while we can because he will go on and play for one of the best teams in the world, he's that good. As for the price I wouldn't accept anything less than £30 million.

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SaintNick added 22:35 - Nov 12 I like Mane and his pace causes problems, but he doesnt score enough for me at the moment, I would say Pelle is more vital to our cause at present
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1970 added 22:41 - Nov 12 Utd have a habit of using the media to tap player's up, that's what they see as acceptable even if they had no intention of playing Mane they would take him from us to stop us taking there place in the table that's how much money they have, so we are as a club doing something right by all those so called big clubs falling over themselves to buy are player's Utd have been doing it to Spud's for years but Mane is worth 40 mill and I think Barca ,Madrid and Bayern would be interested as well because lets face it Utd are one game away from a serious beating coyr

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SaintNick added 22:45 - Nov 12 I think £30 million is a good price, not sure he has the consistency to be worth more, if he got that though then yes £30 million would be a snip
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IWOZTHERE added 22:57 - Nov 12 At long last we're in a position to disturb the 'big boys' and as far as I know we don't need the money. We should stand our ground for as long as we can. At some time the club must realise that a suitcase full of money is unlikely to be as effective up front as a top football player.
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SaintNick added 23:03 - Nov 12 I agree we should hang on to him till we have a player that we consider to be as effective, when we fin that we have to keep doing what we are doing, rake in a big fee and use it to buy in a better replacement and invest the rest in other areas. That is how we have taken ourselves to a strong position so far
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perazi added 23:26 - Nov 12 Nick, your view about Mane "not scoring enough at the moment". Crikey - for a guy who is variously shifted from the right to left flank; asked to adopt the 10 role and act as a pivot for Pelle, he is doing wonderfully well to score the goals he is. Crucially he is providing multiple assists and creating space in the box for others. I can't think of another player in the Prem. who has the attacking versatility and x-factor that Sadio does which is why 30 mill might sound a lot but the better replacement(s) might not materialize. I look at the fee United paid for Martial, and exciting prospect though he is, I don't see the all round attacking, creative talent Mane is rapidly becoming - hence if Man U were prepared to pay that amount for Martial and the rumours are true then why shouldn't the fee for SM be in the same range.

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darthvader added 23:54 - Nov 12 Best player we have had for ages . Mrs Darth even made up a song for him after his record breaking hattrik. So he must be good if she took notice . 45 million minimum or feck off . But I'd doubly his wages and keep him here he is unique in my opinion . Turn of pace he possesses is unbelievable .
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BoondockSaint added 02:18 - Nov 13 50 million is not unreasonable. The mega-rich clubs are desperate for strikers-make them pay through the nose!. What I love about this guy is he is always "on" running around to grab the ball any way he can, and if he gets it, he's in 5th gear in two steps. Plus, he can thread a perfectly weighted pass. Darth's right, "Best player we have had for ages." He's the only one that strikes fear into other teams. They have to watch him all game long.This frees up our other players. So if he goes, it's a massive loss and we had better get a boat load of money. No players thank you, we don't need cast-offs, we'll pick our own.

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Jesus_02 added 08:14 - Nov 13 He wont be sold in Jan. Compare him to Martial at the end of the season. Martial could cost £58m with £36 m being paid upfront. Sure Sadio would be less of a gamble at the moment.
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saintmark1976 added 08:17 - Nov 13 Nick. I know it is the international break and you have a site to fill but why bother with the rubbish read in the Currant Bun. It is a paper similar to the Daily Fail,brought mainly by the hard of thinking. Liverpool fans stopped buying the Currant Bun after the Hillsborough disaster. I suggest Saints fans save their money by doing the same.
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SonicBoom added 09:01 - Nov 13 The one player we have whose pace troubles any defence be it United, Chelsea or anyone else. Yes he is inconsistent but most players with extreme pace are. I would say he's worth more than 30 mill. He's only young and in his time here he has kept improving. He really looks like he believes in himself now and relishes being one of the main players.
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Shano added 10:21 - Nov 13 I can stomach (just) selling our best players in the off season for silly money, knowing we have time to replace with quality.. To sell our best players during the season, regardless of price, will open the door for a 'wheels fall off season'.. If we want to be progressive we need to be a buy only, no business, type club in the January window..
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TimSaint added 10:38 - Nov 13 The £30m price tag is United trying to manufacture themselves a bargain, via the Sun. Lets face it, quality strikers and indeed goals, are what produce the expensive price tags for players. Mane, with a good season under his belt and what he has done so far this season (red card aside) has proved to be great in both scoring and assists, so would command a high price. Yes he is a lttle erratic at time and should score from more of his chances (Newcastle away anyone ?), but he is proving to be a real gem. United failed to sign Clyne from us, despite them saying on MUTV that it was a done deal, so maybe they are trying a different approach to poach Mane. (I know they signed Morgan, but we were always going to sell him). Mane is a critical player to us and to the Saints team he is worth so much more than 30m. Ron has already said that we are not selling in January (apart from Gaston?) and we know his views on LvG, so the club should just say he is not for sale, give Mane a new contract and insert a £45m release clause - JOB DONE !!

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GeordieSaint added 15:54 - Nov 13 I like Mane but he is still far from the finished article. One way of looking at it is we sold Shaw for 30 mill and went and bought Pelle, Mane and Tadic with the money. We could always do that again.
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IanRC added 16:08 - Nov 13 Perhaps if they threw in Martial with the £30million it might be worth looking at otherwise no way this would be a good deal for us.
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SaintBrock added 16:17 - Nov 14 Will still be here next season.
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