From Rochdale to Premier League: the making of Mane

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from BBC or go back to LFC Live.

"They'd say I was a bit cheeky as a child, but I was a young kid," he said. Most of the time I feel like I've grown up, I matured."Mane still goes home on a Sunday, when fixtures allow, to go to church and his maturity is showing on the pitch too after joining Rochdale's academy in 2023 aged 15.It was run then by Tony Ellis - now Wolves' head of northern recruitment - with Mane asked to sign after his first training session."He lit the place up.

Mane's belief shines through as he added: "I've said to myself one day I'll play in the Premier League, I'll score goals in the Premier League."My plan was just work hard, keep going every day and it came sooner than I thought, I was grateful."Every young kids' dream is to play in the Premier League. But if you earn your respect then you can tell him, 'come on and keep going'."We've got this not to give up and stuff, and I feel like that's worked out now and I feel like some of them probably listen to me now when I tell them I keep going."With Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid among the clubs reportedly interested in a summer transfer, Mane's confidence and form has also got Portugal and England battling over his international future.

"He's got a really high ceiling, I think because of his mentality, because of his quality and because he's not finished developing yet," said Wolves boss Edwards."He can go a long, long way. "He's getting a lot of headlines and there's a lot of noise about him, there's not many 18-year-olds in the Premier League doing what he's doing at the moment, especially in a team that's been struggling this season.