© IMAGO – Arne Slot Richard Hughes Liverpool FC Transfers 2024-25
Liverpool could be bringing in Sadio Mane’s future heir as the club close in on agreement to sign an exciting winger this summer.
The Reds’ Senegalese sensation was one of the best players to have played for the club in the 21st century.
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In his prime there was no one beating Mane. He’d zoom past players as if they were practise cones and made the game look easy with his speed and directness.
Mane was one of a kind. He is the type of raw talent combined with an insatiate hunger to work hard and improve that breeds the perfect combination for a player to become world-class.
And world-class he was. In the process he firmly became a club legend.
Now Liverpool are looking to sign someone who possess the same traits as Mane and who will be wanting to follow in his footsteps.
READ MORE: Liverpool AGREE £50m transfer
According to journalist Nabil Djellit Liverpool are close to agreeing a €1m deal to sign Sidy Bahama Ndiaye.
The 2009-born 15-year-old Senegalese winger is likely to join the Reds from his academy Diambars.
This is an interesting move. Ndiaye is regarded as a big prospect, who was playing an age-group above his peers at the recent U17 AFCON and certainly caught the eye.
But being 15-years-old, Ndiaye will not be able to join the club until he celebrates his 18th birthday as per FIFA rules.
His birthday is in December so that won’t happen until December 2027, which means the earliest transfer window Ndiaye could join the club is the January 2028 one, which will be in around two and a half years.
Liverpool haven’t done this kind of deal pretty much ever. But it’s not unprecedented in the world of football.
Chelsea signed Kendry Paez two years ago and he’s only been able to complete that move this year.
It’s clearly a direction Liverpool want to head towards. That’s why they appointed Kyle Wallbanks as the club’s Global Talent Scouting Manager.
In this role Wallbanks’ job is to identify the next emerging talent and recruit them, which will be even more necessary if FSG move towards the multi-club model with Michael Edwards.
Ndiaye has clearly been flagged by Wallbanks as one of those potential players. And it’s easy to see why.
There are shades of Mane about him, who is the last Senegalese to play for Liverpool. Ndiaye has the same sheer speed.
When he runs with the ball at full flow defenders find it impossible to stop him. He’s incredibly fast and the only way he could be stopped at the U17 AFCON is by being chopped down over and over again by the clumsy feet of opposition defenders.
Overall, he averages 8.84 dribbles per 90, which is an extremely productive return.
His end product was lacking a little but that’s something that can be improved. He’s still only 15 years old and has plenty of time to reach the levels he needs to reach.
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But it’s undeniable he has shades of Mane in his style of play, and if Liverpool do bring him in, he could certainly become the Reds’ Mane 2.0.
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