Bayern Munich are reportedly poised to sell Sadio Mane for £17 million this summer to raise money to buy Tottenham Hotspur's superstar Harry Kane.
Mane moved from Liverpool to Bayern Munich for £35million last season. Now Bayern only sells for 17 million, which is really a fracture price. In addition, according to German media reports, after a turbulent season, Mane will be one of seven players purged by Bayern Munich this summer.
Bayern had hoped to use Tottenham Hotspur's contract expiration next summer to bring Kane to the Allianz Arena for £70 million. However, according to the latest report from the Daily Mail, Tottenham have rejected Bayern's second offer and sold the England captain for £120 million.
For now, Bayern remain hopeful of bringing in Kane this summer, with the aim of signing Kane before the summer transfer window closes to avoid a fierce rivalry with other clubs. However, negotiations with Tottenham may not be easy, as Tottenham's offer for Kane is significantly higher than Bayern's expectations.
Bayern will have to make a trade-off between money and timing to ensure they can successfully sign Kane and make a breakthrough next season. As a result, they decided to carry out a massive player purge in the summer to finance the transfer budget for Kane.
According to Sky Sports in Germany, Bayern are looking to raise £17 million from Mane, who is a key sales target for Bayern in this summer's purge of seven. Bayern have raised £12 million by selling Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and are looking to recover £34 million from Barcelona target Benjamin Pawald.
The most expensive player in Thomas Tuchel's list of players for sale is 21-year-old Dutch rising star Ryan Gravenbage, through whom Bayern hope to recover £42 million.
Buna Saar, Alexander Navble and Jan Sommer are also set to leave this summer, though they are all worth less than £8.5 million.
If Bayern can sell the seven players at their expected price, they will raise around £113 million this summer, essentially meeting Daniel Levy's valuation requirements. However, Tottenham Hotspur are still looking to persuade Kane to remain in north London and are ready to offer him a new contract with a salary of up to £400,000 a week.
Last season, Mane made 25 appearances in the Bundesliga, scoring seven goals, but his performances were clearly far from the club's expectations. The Senegal international clashed with team-mate Leroy Sane after Bayern's Champions League defeat against Manchester City, where events deteriorated and was put on the bench by Tuchel in the final three games of the Bundesliga season.
Last month, Mane was rumored to be involved in a scandal with Saudi Arabia's Al Etihad and is expected to sign a lucrative contract with the Saudi giant.
While Bayern are planning a summer clearance sale, that doesn't mean they'll lower the value of all their players in the transfer market. In fact, Bayern still have high expectations for some players and hope to be able to sell them at a higher price. Whether Bayern succeed in bringing in Kane this summer, the deal will be a major event in the summer transfer market.