Manchester United have made a surprise inquiry for Southampton’s Sadio Mané, with Louis van Gaal wanting the 23-year-old to strengthen his forward line.
United had proposed to buy Pedro from Barcelona but the deal broke down, with Van Gaal instructing Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, to ask Saints about Mané. Pedro is now set to join Chelsea.
The west London club came close to signing Pedro in January and continued to pursue the forward at the start of the summer window before it seemed Pedro had decided he preferred United.
While United insist that it was Van Gaal who decided against triggering Pedro’s £21.2m release clause, as reported by the Guardian last Friday, the 28-year-old had reservations regarding Van Gaal’s managerial style. Pedro is good friends with Víctor Valdés, with whom the Dutchman has fallen out.
Last season Mané caught the eye by scoring the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, doing so in the 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa in May. The Senegalese scored 10 goals for Saints after arriving from Red Bull Salzburg on transfer deadline day last September.
Ronald Koeman, the Southampton coach, sanctioned an £11.8m fee for Mané so United can be expected to have made an intial bid in the region of £15m for him. Mané has 22 Senegal caps and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea in January.