Sadio Mane is an enigma to Saints fans, a player who seems to be continuously in the pubic eye due to rumours of Manchester United's interest rather than actually for his achievements on the field.

When Manchester United were suddenly linked with an alleged £25 million pound bid for Sadio Mane back in August most Saints fans were shocked surprised and non plussed, the jury was very much still out on Mane who had spent much of last season under fire from some sections of Saints support who felt that his form was not consistent enough to have really justified his £12 million fee from Red Bull Salzburg.

Indeed as Saints went into the final two Premier League games and Mane with only seven goals to his name there were more than a few who wondered about why we had signed him.

He undoubtedly had talent and pace to die for and then in the penultimate game he exploded into life with a hat trick, although the more savvy in the Saints support felt that Shane Long had a far better game that day against Aston Villa, he not only scored two himself but had a hand in the others, but it was Mane with the fastest ever Premier hat trick who took the plaudits.

Manchester United were suddenly linked in August although it seems that this was more a PR leak by their CEO to try and deflect the ire of supporters upset that they had just lost Pedro to Chelsea.

Al through the first half of this season the rumours of United coming in from him were constant, but the Old Trafford club don't seem t have made any sort of move either back in August or January, yet the rumours still persist.

But anyone who has watched Mane on a regular basis will tell you that his form has been pretty much similar to last year, there has been no lack of effort and in the odd game as he was against Liverpool and previously when Arsenal came to St Mary's on Boxing Day he has shone, but too often there has been plenty of running, plenty of bluster but a failure to actually deliver when it comes down to the final ball and an inability to put the ball in the net or put in that telling final ball.

That was ironically illustrated at Old Trafford when Mane go on the ball on plenty of occasions but could not deliver.

So given the fact that Mane had delivered so little in the five or so months prior to the Liverpool game and indeed has been overtaken in the pecking order by the likes of Shane Long, no one was expecting too much when he came on at half time against Liverpool.

But deliver he did and now that offers hope that he might just repeat his bursts from last season, statistically he is around a goal every four games striker and that is not good enough for the likes of United although tat does not seem to bother the hacks in the red tops who like to produce headlines linking him to United, but his brace against the Merseysiders offers hope that he could just fire Saints into Europe again.

He scores in bursts, last season of his 10 Premier goals he hit the four in a five game burst between Boxing Day and 7th February, although he did miss a game or two in the middle on International duty and then he hit another four in the final four games as mentioned, that meant his other two goals were in the middle of fairly barren spells.

Prior to the Liverpool game his three goals in the Premier League had come in a four game spell in Sept/Oct.

So if history repeats itself then he is due a burst of goal scoring activity and that could help Saints, if he could hit another four goals in the final games of the season then that could be a big help to Saints chances, especially when you look at the other players that Saints have who could also hit that number, Pelle is back in form, Shane Long is no slouch and of course there is Charlie Austin back to fitness, that's four strikers all capable of four goals in the run in, not to mention Jay Rodriguez who could well play some part himself.

The key to Saints coming up on the rails could be this firepower and as Mane proved against Liverpool its those options on the bench that mean that Saints should never be counted out of a game till the final whistle.

But the key could well be Mane, he is due a purple patch and he owes Saints fans one, perhaps in doing so he will attract that big money move, but to be blunt Saints have the attacking power to almost make a £25 million bid for him welcome in that we have plenty of other options.

In the meantime though a quick burst from Mane against Leicester could be just the tonic that Saints need to announce that we are far out of the race for a Europa League spot yet and indeed if Mane and a few others hit their form it could be a lot better than that.

Photo: Action Images

SaintBrock added 21:57 - Mar 28 Saints success does not depend upon one player, if it did and that one player was Mane we'd already be up muddy creek with our paddle stuck two miles back!
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SaintNick added 22:45 - Mar 28 The success of any team does not depend on one player, but in most seasons there are pivotal moments that are down to one player, sometimes its big like Bobby Stokes at Wembley, other times not so big, promotion in 1978 was down to the goals of Tony Funnell late in the season, but they would have meant nothing without the teams efforts throughout the season
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helpineedsomebody added 07:44 - Mar 29 A- either build the team around him B- pay him what the top 4 teams would pay mlt stayed becouse they paid him the going rate C- or sell him for £60 million & we move on
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darthvader added 10:37 - Mar 29 Keep him make him top earner has so much pace it frightens teams brill against Liverpool let's hope his burst continues
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halftimeorange added 11:27 - Mar 29 It has been a big step up for Mane from playing in Austria where superstars do not abound to being marked in the EPL by some of the best defenders in the world. He has obvious scoring ability but that seems to be against sides that do not possess defensive pace and, like Pelle in particular, Mane suffers because we don't have that player who can produce a killer pass which opens up other sides (the exception being JWP from dead ball situations) and that's who Saints should be seeking. I don't think Clasie is the answer but if we can find someone who is then I believe Mane has a bundle of goals in him. Too often our strikeforce score goals through their individual efforts.

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IWOZTHERE added 14:51 - Mar 29 First question is commitment. We don't want another season wondering whether he and VW want to play for us. I guess Ron must know. To be honest, given his performances I very much doubt that we would get anything like the sort of offers being suggested anyway. 'Enigma' is right... He's got the potential to be world class but I disagree with Nick that he's been as effective this season. I do agree with HTO that often we don't get the ball forward quickly enough which has also affected Pelle's form. We'll see in the summer... We've got cover so if he and VW stay it will be because they want to so we might see two top players again next season.

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