Skip to main content

Mbappe to Liverpool: Explaining the transfer talk

Kylian Mbappe’s name has returned to Liverpool supporters’ lips in recent days, and while speculation is baseless at this stage it comes as no surprise.


Mbappe is widely regarded as one of the biggest young talents in world football, if not the biggest, and remains one of the most expensive players.

The Frenchman joined Paris Saint-Germain from AS Monaco in a deal worth up to £166 million in 2017, and has scored 60 goals and laid on a further 32 assists in 87 games for the Ligue 1 giants.

He is already a three-time winner of the French top flight—once with Monaco, twice with PSG—as well as a World Cup winner with France, having only turned 20 in December.

But speaking on receiving the award for Ligue 1’s Player of the Season in May, after a campaign that saw him top-score with 33 in 29 league games, he described himself as being at a “turning point.”

“I have discovered a lot here, and I feel it is perhaps the moment to have more responsibility,” he added.

“I hope that can maybe be at Paris Saint-Germain, that would be a great pleasure. Or perhaps elsewhere with a new project.”

Mbappe is currently enjoying the off-season in the United States, and met with Liverpool stakeholder LeBron James during his stay, gifting the NBA legend a 1984 bottle of Pauillac.

The forward posted a video of his first day in California on Twitter—including his meeting with a Reds cap-wearing James—and from this, rumours began to emerge over a possible move to Anfield:

Kylian Mbappé

✔@KMbappe

My firsts day in USA

86.5K

20:20 - 15 Jun 2019


13.9K people are talking about this

Twitter Ads information and privacy

Paul Joyce, a prominent Liverpool journalist writing for the Times, retweeted Mbappe’s post, and this sparked supporters into life.

Though most of the responses to Joyce’s activity were lighthearted—eye emojis and “welcome to Liverpool”s—there are unsurprisingly sections reading too much into it.

According to betting aggregator Oddschecker, the Reds are now second-favourites to sign Mbappe from PSG, behind only Real Madrid.

At this stage, this should be considered nonsense, as though it is roundly claimed that Liverpool will pay big money to sign their priority targets, it will reportedly be a quiet summer for Jurgen Klopp‘s side.

But adding fuel to the fire, and ongoing rumours of Mbappe joining in the future, is concrete interest in the youngster from prior to his move to Paris.

In June of 2017, the Mail‘s Dominic King revealed that Klopp contacted Mbappe’s agent to discuss a possible move, while it was later claimed that a £87.8 million bid had been rejected.

Liverpool definitely held interest in signing Mbappe despite the lofty fee required, and it stands to reason that Klopp is still an admirer.

It may take more convincing that a likely world-record fee would be worthwhile—though the club have generated around £250 million from the Premier League and Champions League alone in 2018.

But while the current speculation should be dismissed, if Mbappe does become available don’t count Liverpool out of the running just yet.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coronavirus: 'The worst bit is the uncontrollable coughing'

"The worst bit is the uncontrollable coughing," says Andrew O'Dwyer, who is recovering after being infected with the new coronavirus following a skiing trip to Italy in late February. "I've had worse flu, without a doubt - but I wouldn't want to catch it again," he says during his self-isolation at home in south-west London. Despite having type 1 diabetes, Andrew says having the virus "isn't anything to worry about for me personally". He adds that the fever he experienced is "no different to normal flu-type symptoms". "I've not been concerned," he says. The severity of symptoms can vary widely among people. Those who are older and have pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) are more likely to become severely ill and can need hospital treatment. There have been 10 coronavirus-related deaths so far in the UK. Andrew was told the virus wasn't circulating in the resort ...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE MASCARENE PARROT

The Mascarene parrot was 35 cm (14 in) in length with a large red bill and long, rounded tail feathers. Its legs were red, and it had naked red skin around the eyes and nostrils. It had a black facial mask and partially white tail feathers, but the colouration of the body, wings and head is unclear. Descriptions from life indicate the body and head were ash grey, and the white part of the tail had two dark central feathers. In contrast, descriptions based on stuffed specimens state that the body was brown and the head bluish but do not mention the dark central tail feathers. This may be due to the specimens having changed colour as a result of aging and exposure to light, as well as other forms of damage. Very little is known about the bird in life. The Mascarene parrot was first mentioned in 1674, and live specimens were later brought to Europe, where they lived in captivity . The species was scientifically described in 1771. Only two stuffed specimens exist today, in Paris and Vienn...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coronavirus: Stock markets continue to slide

European shares have fallen further as fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the world's financial markets. London's FTSE 100 had opened higher on Tuesday, but the rally quickly ran out of steam and the index fell 3%. Global stock markets are seeing record levels of volatility. In the US on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its biggest one-day slide in more than three decades. A key measure of stock market volatility, known as the "Fear Gauge", has surged to a record high. Asian shares continued to see volatile trading on Tuesday with markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai swinging between losses and gains. The main share indexes in Europe fell, with France's Cac 40 index and Germany's Dax both more than 2% lower. Live: Latest business reaction to coronavirus US stocks see worst fall since 1987 on virus fears Vauxhall factories shut over coronavirus fears Airlines cancel most fl...
Post a Comment
Read more