Liverpool now leading race to sign the new Raheem Sterling for £50m

Liverpool might have seen a record-breaking summer of spending after winning last season's Premier League title, but there's bound to be more movement on the horizon after the many issues of the current campaign.

It's been a difficult season for the Redmen, who will not retain their top-flight title but have their sights set on glory in the FA Cup and the Champions League, into the last 16 on both counts.

Arne Slot has praised his side's improvements on the fitness front, but there remains a lack of depth and dynamism across multiple areas, and FSG are already looking to address these concerns ahead of the summer transfer window.

Cody Gakpo, for example, has been too one-dimensional on the left flank this year, and he's lacking competition.

Liverpool leading the race for Premier League winger

When Liverpool sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer, they did not replace him. Not directly. The emergence of Rio Ngumoha played a crucial part in that, but Ngumoha's game time has been restricted this season, and Liverpool may need to add more depth.

Ngumoha remains a potential superstar, but it's clear Slot and co hope to ease him into the action.

The key thing here is that Liverpool want to strengthen without impeding Ngumoha in his development, and that's why sporting director Richard Hughes has set his sights on Mateus Mane.

According to Caught Offside, Wolves have accepted they will lose the young prodigy this summer as they head for relegation, and Liverpool are said to be leading Arsenal and Manchester United in the race.

Valued at £50m by the Old Gold, Mane has shown an incredible level already this season, and Liverpool want to snap him up before his market value explodes.

Mane is one of the most talented teenage attackers in the country, and if Liverpool were to pull this one off, they might land their new version of Raheem Sterling in the prospect.

Why Mane could be the new Raheem Sterling

Sterling ended his purgatory at Chelsea by signing for Feyenoord on a free transfer earlier this month, potentially ending a long and storied and successful career in English football.

He's been around the block, but Sterling kicked off his top-flight career with Liverpool, having left Queens Park Rangers and joined the Anfield side in 2010 for a £2m fee, a youth at the time.

Mane could now emerge as the new version, a precocious teenager whose potential is staggering to consider.

In the Premier League this season, he has scored twice and assisted once across 16 matches, ten starts. More impressive is his average of 4.1 duels and one dribble per game, emphasising an energy that has been harnessed after so few outings.

It's been an impressive start to life on the big stage, especially when considering the lowly position Wolves find themselves in.

Mane's underlying data, his success in the duel and intelligent decision-making suggest he could be the new Sterling, with the Three Lions star 18 years old himself during that iconic 2013/14 campaign at Anfield, led by Luis Suarez.

The 31-year-old scored ten goals and supplied nine assists across all competitions that year, establishing himself as a superstar. The circumstances in which he left for Manchester City were painful, for sure, but Liverpool banked a pretty penny and find themselves in wildly different circumstances now.

In short, Mane would not want to leave Liverpool, should he be given the platform to go from strength to strength.

Liverpool's development system might not be as frantic as Chelsea or Manchester City's, but the Merseysiders do know a top talent when they see one, and Mane is the real deal, hailed by journalist Bence Bocsak as a "special" talent who "could become a star".

However, unlike his namesake, it is Sterling whose pathway he could mimic by signing for Liverpool this summer, arriving from a smaller club as an inexperienced teenager, but one with the potential to make his mark from the get-go.

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