Bayern Munich 'hyped' for ‘absolute superstar’ Sadio Mane but where will he play? - Inside Europe
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Updated 22/06/2022 at 11:21 GMT
With Sadio Mane having completed his move to German champions Bayern Munich, Pete Sharland gets in touch with Dennis Melzer from Eurosport Germany to talk about the excitement around the forward’s arrival, what he means for Bayern and their manager Julian Nagelsmann, and where he will play in the team.
'Where it all started' - Mane plays football on mud-soaked pitch in home town
Sadio Mane is now officially a Bayern Munich player, with a three-year deal confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. .
The Senegalese forward had been flirting with a departure from Liverpool for a few months and once the interest in Darwin Nunez became concrete it was clear Mane would be leaving Anfield.
He will now try to help Bayern as they look to re-establish themselves as a force in Europe having not reached the final four of the Champions League in either of the last two seasons.
In order to see how Munich is reacting to the transfer, plus a few tactical questions, we got in touch with Dennis Melzer to get the latest?
These questions and the subsequent answers were published on Tuesday June 21 ahead of the official confirmation of the move.
Munich is ‘pretty hyped’
The first question we asked Melzer was about the reaction in Munich to this transfer. It’s been a while since Bayern have signed one of the world’s truly elite players. Most of Bayern’s recent signings have been about picking up players on the rise, rather than players already at their peak. And even if they were at their peak, they weren’t at the level that Mane is right now.
So what’s the reaction been?
“Munich is already pretty hyped about the Mane transfer,” says Melzer.
Several reporters are following every step he takes today. From the airport to the hospital (his medical) - everything is being documented in detail.
“Overall, I would say that the transfer is seen as a massive signing. Mane is an absolute superstar and a few weeks ago hardly anyone expected that we would see him in the Bundesliga in the future.”
Will he play up front or out wide?
While predominantly a left-sided forward who cuts inside Mane did find some success playing for Liverpool through the middle, most notably in his last season.
Is there any indication that manager Julian Nagelsmann will follow that ploy? Or will he play out wide?
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Julian Nagelsmann
Image credit: Getty Images
“I assume that Julian Nagelsmann will use him on the wings,” Melzer said.
“Last season, only Kingsley Coman performed consistently well, while Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane struggled in the second half of the season. Those latter two are not without controversy at FC Bayern.
“Mane is definitely scheduled as a starter. Should Lewandowski leave the club, Mane could also be an option for the centre of attack. However, Bayern would certainly sign another number nine in the case of Lewandowski's departure.
“If Lewandowski stays, the starting eleven with Mane could look like this: Neuer - Mazraoui, Pavard (Upamecano), Hernández, Davies - Kimmich, Goretzka (Gravenberch) - Coman (Gnabry/Sane), Müller (Musiala), Mane – Lewandowski”
So could Sane or Gnabry leave then?
Unsurprisingly given their collection of wide players there have been some reports that one of them could leave. Who does Melzer think that could be?
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Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané
Image credit: Getty Images
“Sane will definitely stay, but there is still a question mark behind Gnabry. Gnabry's contract expires in 2023, Bayern would like to extend it, but he has rejected the offers so far.
“If no agreement is reached, he could still leave in the summer (Real Madrid are said to be interested).”
What about Lewandowski?
At the time of writing Lewandowski is still a Bayern player with no signs of a breakthrough from either FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.
Lewandowski has been clear he wants to go, Bayern have been clear they won’t let him. Some recent reports have suggested he may be staying but is there really any update?
“So far, the Bayern bosses have only made one announcement: Lewandowski will stay and fulfil his contract. So far, nobody has opened the door for a transfer, even though Lewandowski desperately wants to leave.
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Robert Lewandowski
Image credit: Getty Images
“The problem: Bayern actually needs a high-quality replacement - but that is currently impossible to find on the market. As of now, Lewandowski is staying in Munich. But let's see what happens in the next weeks.”
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