Liverpool Set to Tie Star Player Down to 'Improved New Contract' After Stellar 2017/18 Season

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane appears set to sign a new and improved contract at Anfield, with the club described as 'confident' that the deal will be finalised

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane appears set to sign a new and improved contract at Anfield, with the club described as 'confident' that the deal will be finalised in the 'coming weeks'.

Mane has been in talks with Liverpool since at least February when manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that wanting to keep the Senegalese star at the club was 'not a secret'.

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Given that fellow forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino have each recently signed new long-term deals until 2023, handing Mane fresh terms is the next logical step.

The former Southampton star remains under contract until 2021. But, according to the Daily Mirror, Liverpool are keen to reward him for how much he has improved since joining the club and signing his initial five-year contract in 2016.

Mane, who has been handed Liverpool's number 10 shirt ahead of the new campaign, scored 20 goals in all competitions last season as the Reds finished in the Premier League top four in consecutive years for the first time since 2009 and reached the Champions League final.

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He scored 10 of those goals in 29 Premier League appearances, adding a further seven assists, while he netted 10 more in just 11 games in Europe, including a hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of Porto in the first knockout round and Liverpool's goal in the final against Real Madrid.

After a World Cup that ended in disappointment as Senegal narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stages in a tight group, Mane has enjoyed a strong pre-season and has scored penalties in victories over Premier League rivals Manchester City and Manchester United.