---
title: "How important is Sadio Mane to Southampton?"
canonical: "https://readsouthampton.com/2015/10/06/important-sadio-mane-southampton/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Daniel Emery"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2015-10-06T16:15:25Z"
modified: "2015-10-06T16:15:25Z"
---

# How important is Sadio Mane to Southampton?

Over the last few weeks it has been highlighted as to how good a player Saints winger Sadio Mane is. I will be looking at just how crucial he is to Ronald Koeman’s side and why he is so good.

Mane joined Southampton at the start of last season from Salzburg for almost £12m just £1m shy of their record transfer fee, which was for Dani Osvaldo, a player not too many fans will want to remember.

Sadio Mane has scored four goals and four assists in just eight starts this season, very impressive, however it is not just this season that has put him on the radar of some of England’s top clubs. Mane had a fantastic season with Southampton last season, as did Southampton as a club, and was pivotal in the Saints European qualification with a seventh place Premier League finish.

Mane may only have started 24 Premier League games last season but he managed to bag ten Premier League goals. A fine return for a wide midfielder that was having his first ever season in the Premier League.

Possibly the highlight of Sadio Mane’s season was in the 6-1 drubbing of Aston Villa. The Senegalese international netted the fastest ever Premier League hat-trick. He scored the treble in just 2 minutes and 56 seconds. The Aston Villa defence fell to pieces as the winger tore through their defence in such quick succession.

Mane’s pace and trickery has become a thorn in every opposition team to face Southampton in the last year or so and has excelled under Ronald Koeman’s stewardship. Mane’s main strength is perhaps his ability to commit defender and run directly at defenders with the ball. His superb dribbling has been a feature of Southampton’s play last season and of course, this season.

Mane was a pivotal cog in Southampton’s win over Chelsea at the weekend and has once again been linked with a move away from the South Coast. Manchester United failed with a move for him in the summer but Koeman said that it is inevitable that he will leave Southampton. It would be very hard to replace such a key player in the Saints side and his direct running and key goals will be a heavy burden to add to the shoulders of a new signing.