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Fan rant of the day: Time to wrap up this £34m star’s future at Anfield and charge for glory

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By Drew Griffin

Starting the season with a bang wasn’t unexpected after the stellar campaign Liverpool enjoyed last time. Reaching the Champions League final and finishing in the top four certainly was an incredible ride and the star of the show was Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian broke all sorts of records in his first season at Anfield but the main man this time around has been Sadio Mane.

The Senegalese star, who joined Liverpool for £34m, has four goals to his name in as many games and has looked fitter, faster and sharper than any of his previous campaigns for the Reds.

Salah and Roberto Firmino have looked sluggish in the attack but Mane has held the fort for the Reds, leading them to four wins from four.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah

Of course, being Liverpool, everything cannot fall into place at the club. Mane is the only one of our front three who is yet to sign a new deal but Jurgen Klopp isn’t rushing to extend the winger’s stay at the club.

The German was asked about Mane’s future and was quoted (h/t Bleacher Report) as saying:

“It’s not that his contract ends tomorrow. They are all in a good age group. That’s all positive, right?”

The report did say that Mane had three years left on his deal and the Senegal star has gotten better with each season under his belt.

The 26-year-old scored 13 goals in his first season for us, 20 goals last season and four goals already this term.

Mane scored 10 goals from 13 Champions League games for us last season, bagging our only goal in the final as well.

Although the player has a few years left on his deal, we should extend his stay at Anfield.

The 26-year-old has the hunger and desire to constantly get at the opposition. He runs at them full pelt, tries to barge into defences and wants to score. The only thing lacking is his finishing but Salah too started slowly last season and hammered in goals for fun towards the end.

No distractions for Liverpool needed

The Reds, for once, seem to have everything set for a proper title challenge. Quality squad members, a world-class keeper, most players fit and a manager who seems to get the best out of everyone.

Alisson

The last thing they need is this cloud above their head regarding Mane’s extension.

The 26-year-old is perfect for our playing style and he complements Firmino and Salah. Mane can still get better and under Klopp, we could see him score tons of goals in the years to come.

If we could get the likes of Salah, Henderson and Firmino to pen new deals, Mane’s contract should not be a huge problem. We should just give the player what he wants and keep him on a par with his fellow attackers.

Liverpool face a tough run of games after the international break and we need everyone firing on all cylinders.

Mane will play a key role in the games against PSG, Napoli, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham. If we come out on top of these clashes, the Senegal man will see his stock rise.

Barcelona have done a lot of messing around when it comes to signing our players in the past (Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez are prime examples).

One example saw Gerard Pique claim that Coutinho (h/t Metro) wanted to join Barcelona and that is something we do not need at Liverpool now.

Read more: ESPN claims Liverpool have spoken to mother and agent of Ligue 1 star

We need to ensure Mane is on the same page with us and if it means giving him the contract he wants, then let’s just get that done soon.