According to The Daily Mirror’s sports correspondent John Richardson, Liverpool are in talks to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe this summer.
Liverpool are preparing their comeback in the Premier League with less than a fortnight remaining before they return to action against Chelsea in their opening fixture of the season.
Jurgen Klopp and his new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke have been hard at work to deliver a full midfield rebuild over the summer break, with former Brighton and Hove Albion dynamo Alexis Mac Allister joining the Merseyside giants, alongside Hungarian whiz Dominik Szoboszlai.
Whilst the Anfield faithful will be thrilled with the acquisition of two exciting prospects to deploy in the centre of the pitch, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho’s unexpected exits has left the Liverpool midfield lacking experience and defensive quality.
Replacing the pair, of course, will surely taking primary priority for the club’s hierarchy and will require identifying one or two defensive-minded midfielders who possess the quality and experience to comfortably slot into the deep-lying roles.
Having said that, is now looking like Liverpool are also looking at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snap up the services of a world-class forward too, despite boasting the talents of Mohammed Salah, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez in the final third.
In an article written for the Mirror on Sunday, Richardson has revealed that the Reds are in talks to negotiate a deal for French World Cup winner Mbappe, with the PSG star looking to cut ties with his long-standing Ligue 1 club.
As per the report, the French champions are worried they could lose their generational talent for free next summer when his contract expires and have already accepted a mind-blowing £259m bid from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, despite Mbappe unwilling to communicate to agree personal terms with the Saudi Pro League outfit.
As a result, it is claimed that Liverpool are willing offer a one-year loan deal to give Mbappe his escape from PSG ahead of his expected move on a free transfer to Real Madrid.
Our thoughts on Liverpool’s potential move for Kylian Mbappe…
There isn’t a Liverpool supporter on the planet who would turn up their nose at the opportunity to see Mbappe don the famous Red shirt at Anfield next season, however, that same army of fans are all too familiar with FSG’s strict financial parameters.
The Merseysiders’ tight-fisted American owners have earned a reputation for being extremely responsible with their transfer budgets and spending, which has at times been criticised for being over cautious, especially in more recent times with Liverpool falling out of the Champions League and struggling to compete with an ageing squad.
Because of this, the prospect of signing Mbappe – who is currently earning £1.2m a week at PSG – seems incredibly farfetched and unlikely to be financially viable for the club, with other key areas of the pitch still left to be addressed this summer.
Nevertheless, the Paris-born sensation – who legendary coach Arsene Wenger once claimed “could be another Thierry Henry” – ranks in the top 5% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for non-penalty goals, shots on goal, shot-creating actions, progressive passes, progressive carries, sucessful take-ons and touches, as per FBref.
Not only that, Mbappe has been the top goal-scorer in Ligue 1 for four consecutive seasons, as well as ranking first in the entirety of Europe’s elite top five leagues for shots on target, proving that he would be an incredible asset in the final third for Klopp and would likely compete on the level of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland for the golden boot.
With that being said, there is no doubt that the 24-year-old superstar would be a welcomed addition at Liverpool and in the Premier League, but unless Mbappe is willing to take a significant pay cut it will remain just a pipe dream for the six-time Champions League winners.
