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Sadio Mane is trying to force a move from Southampton after Chelsea and Bayern Munich joined ­ Manchester United in the race to sign him.

Mane, 23, has told Southampton he does not want to sign a new contract knowing that will force them into a £30m sale to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

United are keen to do a deal in January but Mirror Sport understands that Chelsea and Bayern Munich have also registered their interest once it became clear he may be available.

Senegal forward Mane’s current deal expires in 2018 and Southampton are adamant they will not sell this month.

(Image: Johannes Simon)

But they will not allow Mane to go into the final two years of his contract and that means he is almost certain to leave this summer.

Mane still expects to stay until the end of the season - but is due to have crunch talks with the club and his advisers next week.

That is likely to clear the air and all three clubs will be watching developments to see if Southampton are prepared to sell now.

Southampton boss Ronald Koeman dropped Mane from the squad on Saturday after he was late for a team meeting and the situation is now coming to a crunch.

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But Koeman is making it a point of principle that Southampton must not sell Mane in January and they have also told Arsenal that Victor Wanyama will not be allowed to leave in this January.

Arsenal have also been quoted more than £20m for Wanyama in the summer in the hope that puts them off.

United made a move for Mane in the summer and that was rejected with Southampton keen to extend his deal.

But now that chance has also disappeared and United may be tempted to come back with a huge offer to steal a march on the rest - but Southampton are determined to stand firm.