Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini is desperate to keep Aissa Mandi at the La Liga outfit amid interest from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, as he told ABC Sevilla.
Unfortunately for Los Verdiblancos, there is very little they can do if the long-serving Algerian decides to depart.
Mandi’s contract expires in July.
At the age of 29, the former Reims stopper will never have a better chance to join one of the biggest clubs on the continent. This really does feel like ‘last chance saloon’ territory.
According to Estadio Deportivo, Mandi is a bargain target for Liverpool, Inter and AC Milan.
So Pellegrini may be facing a losing battle in his attempts to keep Mandi at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
“(The club) have been talking with Aissa for a long time; the player has a good relationship with the president and the sporting director,” said the former Manchester City and Real Madrid coach, who has led Betis to sixth in the table after a difficult start to the season.
“He hasn’t made a decision, but he has an offer (to stay). It would be good for us if he stayed because he is an important player for us.”
President Angel Haro said recently that Mandi could make a decision on his future before the end of this month, hailing the ‘magnificent’ attitude of a man who has occasionally captained one of La Liga’s biggest clubs this season.
Liverpool came close to landing Mandi in the summer of 2020, although their £9 million bid fell short of Betis’s expectations (Mirror, August 2, page 67).
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