Liverpool is reportedly turning its attention on Southampton winger Sadio Mané in the offseason as the team's hunt to land Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Götze is getting more blurry as the summer transfer window approaches.
The 24-year-old Senegalese forward finished the season as the Saints' leading goal scorer with 15 goals in 43 games in all competitions, which attracted several other English Premier League giants such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, The Guardian reported.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who is said to be looking for the ideal attacking midfielder for the "high-intensity pressing game" of his squad next season, had been targeting his former ward Götze of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
However, with recent reports emerging that the World Cup-winning goal scorer had switched agents is now intending to stay in Bavaria for the foreseeable future, the German manager have allegedly redirected his focus on Mané.
Initial reports were out that Götze is planning on a summer exit from Munich as Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told him to find a club elsewhere as he may not be part of the future plans of incoming Der FCB head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Götze was then linked to a reunion with his former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp before recent reports emerged that his now agent-father claimed that he will stay in Bavaria.
With Götze seemingly out of the picture, Klopp is now setting his sights on the West African sensation, who "would cost significantly more than the £20m earmarked for Götze" as he is still under contract with Southampton until 2018.
It was also mentioned that Klopp is keen on a major roster overhaul even if the Reds failed to qualify to play in the Europa League next season.
Manchester United is said to be preparing to offer a £20 million bid to Southampton for the 5-foot-9 Sédhiou, Senegal native, but there are no official reports whether that would be enough for the Saints to give in, as per Caught Offside.
Mané had just finished his second season with the St Mary's Stadium residents, scoring 25 goals in a total of 75 appearances in all competitions during the said time span. He was a former player of Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg from 2012 to 2014, where he came from when Southampton signed him in September of 2014 for a fee of £11.8 million.