Sadio Mane: Southampton forward not for sale – Ronald Koeman

Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez will be sidelined for at least two months after undergoing surgery on his foot, manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed.

United boss Louis van Gaal is said to be eying a £30m raid for the 23-year-old to boost his side’s toothless attack while Chelsea are also keeping tabs on the Senegalese ace.

“That’s great, if it’s really like that, it’s great”, said Koeman over the interest from others in Mane. “That will be nice for him and good for Southampton”. “He’s strong and still young and he will come back and will be the player that he was, but he needs more time than everybody likes of Jay”.

“Of course he was disappointed about that final decision, but he’s handling it well”.

The Premier League giants fell to a shock 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool in the league last weekend before losing to Juventus in the Champions League 1-0 last night.

The visitors have not won at the Etihad Stadium since 2004 however, underscoring the size of their task in trying to topple Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

Koeman has urged Shane Long to fill the void left by suspended top scorer Pelle at Manchester City on Saturday, saying: “I hope he will be the hero of the game”.

While Koeman is confident in the fire-power among his fully fit charges, he did accept Rodriguez can boost his arsenal when he finally regains rude health.

The England worldwide, who missed the entirety of last season due to a knee problem, last played in the 2-2 draw with Leicester City on October 17.

“Rumours aren’t important: we will sell nobody”, Koeman is quoted o say by Daily Mail.