BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND - Saturday, December 3, 2016: Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho, with dyed blonde hair, in action against Leicester City during the Premier League International Cup match at St. George's Park. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Mamadou Sakho to ‘decide his future in next 48 hours’

Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho is expected to make a decision on his future within the next two days.

Sakho is the most high-profile player linked with a move away from Merseyside this January, having dropped far down the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp.

With no prospect of earning a first-team recall and having spent the first half of the season with the Liverpool U23s, Sakho is due to leave before the end of the transfer window.

According to the Mail‘s Liverpool correspondent Dominic King, this is set to be finalised this week, with Sakho tasked with deciding on his next club.

Galatasaray, Sevilla and Southampton are named as interested parties, while Bournemouth have also been linked with a loan move for the 26-year-old.

AC Milan, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, OGC Nice, Lille and West Bromwich Albion have also been mooted as possible destinations, though this has cooled since the beginning of January.

Sakho is said to be “attracted to the idea of moving to the south coast,” with the possibility of staying in the top half of the Premier League with Southampton likely an appealing one.

This comes with Saints captain Jose Fonte handing in a transfer request last week, with Sakho an ideal replacement at centre-back.

DERBY, ENGLAND - Monday, November 28, 2016: Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho in action against Derby County during the FA Premier League 2 Under-23 match at Pride Park. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Manager Claude Puel refused to discuss reported interest in Sakho in a press conference after Southampton‘s 2-2 draw with Norwich City in the FA Cup third round.

“It’s a period of speculation of the market window and it’s the same answer and it’s always a difficult market for all the teams,” he said.

“It is not easy to have the good possibilities and of course we stay aware about possibilities and opportunities.

“But if a player will come to Southampton it’s a player who can do good work and I think a strong level on the squad.

“It is not interesting to take a player just to take a player.”

This could be seen as a hint as to Puel’s interest, however, with Sakho clearly able to slot into the Saints’ squad and perform at a high level.

Liverpool’s No. 3 is far from a poor player, with his attitude the aspect under question following his exile, and a move could revitalise his career.

All could be revealed by Thursday afternoon, with Sakho keen to sever his ties and rebuild.

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