Sadio Mane signing eases pressure on Bayern to keep wantaway stars

Liverpool to Bayern Munich is a coup for the Bundesliga champions, who have signed a ready-made replacement for either wantaway striker Robert Lewandowski or winger Serge Gnabry. Mane, 30, arrives in Munich on a three-year contract with sufficient star status to enhance Bayern's attack. "Often it's the other way around, but this time a Bundesliga club has signed a top Premier League player," German magazine Kicker commented last week.

The Senegal forward reportedly cost the German giants around £35 million (41 million euros, $43 million), only slightly less than the sum Liverpool paid for him in 2016. Crucially for Bayern, Mane can replace either Lewandowski, who insists his Munich "story has come to an end" as he eyes a move to Barcelona, or Gnabry, who is stalling over signing a contract extension. In six years on Merseyside, Mane led Liverpool's transformation under Jurgen Klopp from Premier League also-rans into serious contenders for major trophies.

One of Klopp's first major signings, Mane won a clean sweep of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup titles in his time at Anfield. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher sees Mane as a great signing for Bayern. "My favourite @LFC player of this era - low maintenance, high performance & never injured," Carragher said on Twitter this week.

"Trophies & goals galore, a true Liverpool Legend. Thank you, Sadio." Another former Reds player, Dean Saunders, has claimed his talent will be wasted in the Bundesliga, where Bayern have just capped a decade of dominance by winning a 10th straight league title. "The league is nowhere near a challenge for Mane.