Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appears to have dropped a huge clue over the future of talismanic forward Sadio Mane after conceding "clubs think differently" about a player's age nowadays.
The Senegal international is still riding high after his national side secured their first ever Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this month and has only just returned to Merseyside to focus on club matters.
Mane is 29 years of age and will turn 30 before the season's end, sparking discussion over whether the Reds will offer him an extension or cash in on one of their most prized assets.
The forward will have just one year left to run on his current deal come the end of the season but Klopp's most recent comments will trigger excitement among the Anfield faithful that Mane will remain at the club for the foreseeable.
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The Reds manager was pressed on Mane's future and chose to discuss how his age can be used to his advantage moving forward.
"It is difficult to improve on the level that Sadio is already at," Klopp explained.
"Lewandowski was born in 1988. So he is 33. Then there’s Messi at 34 and Ronaldo at 37.
"The massive advantage of being in your early-30s and mid-30s is that as a player you can see things in the right way if you have learned throughout your career.
"Sadio [who turns 30 in April] can use that and become an even better player than he was two or three years before.
"Clubs think differently. They look at a player aged 32, 33 and think, ‘We can’t sell him anymore’.
"But if they are already inside the club then that’s outstanding because they already have experience and desire and quality."
Mane returns to Liverpool from AFCON with his sprits high given he took home player of the tournament after a stellar return of three goals and two assists in seven games.
The 29-year-old was in fine form for the Reds before he travelled to Cameroon for international duty and found the net in his last Liverpool outing against Chelsea in early January.
His goal tally for club sits at 10 strikes across all competitions with eight of those coming in the Premier League as Liverpool look to keep within touching distance of table-toppers Manchester City.
Klopp's men currently sit 12 points behind Guardiola's side but have played two games less and could halve that huge deficit providing they win their two crucial games in hand.
