REVEALED: How Sadio Mane 'cost Jurgen Klopp a deal for Jeremy Doku'

REVEALED: How Sadio Mane ‘cost Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool a deal for £55m Jeremy Doku’ as rivals Manchester City agree a deal to sign the 21-year-old winger from Rennes

• Manchester City have today agreed a £55m deal to sign winger Jeremy Doku  
• Jurgen Klopp may be kicking himself after an ex-player talked him out of signing 
• WATCH: ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ – Episode 2 – Mail Sport’s brand new football show

Sadio Mane may have cost Liverpool the chance to sign Jeremy Doku for a cut price of the fee that has been agreed between Rennes and rivals Manchester City.

Mail Sport yesterday revealed that Pep Guardiola’s side had a £55million pound offer accepted for the 21-year-old. 

Doku, is one of the most exciting young prospects in Europe right now, having attracted interest from several big clubs including Tottenham, City, West Ham and Liverpool. 

A graduate of the Anderlecht academy, he currently plies his trade for Ligue 1 side Rennes, having joined the French outfit back in 2020, notably scoring six goals in 29 league appearances last season. 

But the deal may come as a blow to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who reportedly had the chance to sign him for 100th of the price that Man City are set to pay for him back when the winger was 15-years-old. 

Jeremy Doku (pictured) reportedly turned down the chance to join Liverpool after being dissuaded to join the club by Sadio Mane

Jurgen Klopp’s (middle) side had been very close to agreeing a deal to sign the winger back when he was 15

But according to Doku, a conversation with Sadio Mane (pictured) may have convinced him not to join the Reds 

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The winger had been given permission to travel from Belgium to Merseyside by his former club Anderlecht to meet Klopp and several of the team’s players.

One of those was Sadio Mane, who recently departed the club for Bayern Munich and has subsequently moved on to pastures new, joining up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Had Doku decided to join Liverpool, he may have inherited Mane’s position on the wing, yet the Senegalese international may have urged the Belgian international not to join.   

According to The Mirror, Klopp was very set on bringing the winger to the club and was ready to pay £500,000 in compensation to Anderlecht for him. 

In a bid to convince him to join the Reds, with several other Premier League clubs circling the young talent, the German introduced him to some of the club’s top players, in a bid to convince Doku that Liverpool was the right team for him.  

‘My 16th birthday was coming up, the age you can sign a pro contract,’ Doku said to Ouest-France. 

‘A lot of teams came to see me – Liverpool was the most concrete interest but there was also Arsenal and Chelsea.

‘I went with my mum and dad [to Liverpool], and we were given a tour of the stadium, the training ground, even the school I would go to. They gave me a signed Salah shirt, and I met the players.

‘I was able to discuss with Jurgen, Gerrard too, we looked at some video moments, and he spoke about the development. 

‘We met players, (Simon) Mignolet because he was Belgian, [Georginio] Wijnaldum from Netherlands.’ 

It was then that he spoke with Mane, who, as he claimed, did not go out of his way to persuade him to join the Reds, instead implying that he should continue to development in the Belgian Pro League with Anderlecht. 

‘I talked a lot with Mane but we didn’t really talk about football. We talked about everything,’ the Belgian continued.

‘He told me that I was young, that I still had time… he wasn’t trying to convince me or to say to me ‘come here, you will succeed’.’ 

‘So I preferred to be careful,’ he added. 

‘I knew what my trajectory had to be. I knew what route I needed to take and I knew at that moment I needed to stay at Anderlecht.’ 

Doku (middle) is a graduate of the Anderlecht youth system, but joined Ligue 1 side Rennes in 2020

Pep Guardiola’s (pictured) Manchester City have now agreed a £55million deal to sign him from the French club

Interestingly, it may have worked out pretty well for the young star, who at the age of 21 has already won 14 caps for the Belgian senior side and made his debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16. 

Former Belgium manager, Roberto Martinez, has also spoken very highly of the winger in the past, lauding him as an ‘exceptional talent.’

He would subsequently move from Anderlecht to Rennes on a deal worth around £22.5m and it appears he may have no regrets on not moving to the Premier League club when he was 15. 

‘As soon as I’m asked if I regret it [not joining Liverpool],’ Doku added, ‘I always say no, because if Liverpool came to me at 15, if they like me, they’ll come back later, that’s certain. It’s up to me to play well.’ 

It seems while he may have snubbed a move to Liverpool, he may now be in line to join Manchester City, with Guardiola’s side seeing him as a replacement to Riyad Mahrez.

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