Manchester United and Liverpool are circling the same young talents this summer, and the latest name to pop up on both radars is a guy who just turned 18 and spent last season getting knocked around the Premier League like a pinball. That would be Mateus Mane, the Wolves winger who somehow made relegation look almost entertaining.
According to United In Focus, the Red Devils are preparing an offer for Mane and might try to land him for around £20 million. Wolves, though, have slapped a £35 million price tag on the kid they developed through their academy. So there’s a gap. A significant one.
Mane was one of the few things that actually worked at Molineux last season. The Portuguese teenager played with that kind of reckless energy defenders hate — fast, direct, always looking to take someone on. He didn’t just survive in the Premier League as an 18-year-old. He made it look like he belonged. That doesn’t happen often.
Wolves are in a tough spot though. They’re heading to the Championship after that brutal final day, and keeping a player who took the league by storm is going to be nearly impossible. The kid has suitors. Liverpool is reportedly in the mix too. So is pretty much every club in Europe that needs a winger who can actually beat a man.
United’s plan here seems to be: throw out a number, see if Wolves blink. £20 million is way below the asking price, but the logic might be that Wolves need cash and might cave as the window drags on. It’s a gamble. But that’s how United has operated lately — lowball first, negotiate later.
Mane isn’t the only young forward on United’s list. Paris Saint-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye is also in the picture. The Senegalese winger played 31 times for PSG last season under Luis Enrique but apparently wants more minutes. United has competition there too — Tottenham and Aston Villa are both keeping tabs on him.
So United is hunting. Two teenagers. Two different profiles. One is a proven Premier League spark plug coming off a nightmare season for his club. The other is a PSG product who needs a bigger stage. Both would cost money United might not want to spend. But that’s the market now. You either pay for the finished product or you bet early and hope you’re right.
Mane feels like the bigger swing. He’s already done it in England. He’s just doing it from the Championship now.
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