Monaco are reported to have rejected an offer worth £87.8 million for 18-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe, who has set his sights on Real Madrid.
EDIT: The Telegraph have confirmed Liverpool’s interest in Mbappe, but suggested they will only bid if he indicates a willingness to move to England.
They write that “Jurgen Klopp is determined to be part of the conversation should Monaco agree to sell their star striker before the start of the season.”
Mbappe has risen to the fore as Europe’s premier young talent, scoring 26 goals and assisting a further 14 in 44 appearances for Monaco last season.
This has attracted interest from around the continent, with Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain among those mooted as potential destinations.
Therefore, Liverpool’s approach is certainly ambitious, but Spanish publication MARCA claim that they have made an £87.8 million bid for the France international.
But Monaco are believed to have rejected this offer out of hand, having also spurned Arsenal‘s advances earlier in June.
Jurgen Klopp is said to have guaranteed Mbappe a key role heading into next summer’s World Cup in Russia, but this would not have been enough to convince him to make the move to Merseyside.
Mbappe has told Monaco owner Dmitri Rybolovlev that the only club he would leave for is Madrid, and this will be when he considers himself ready to make his mark at the Santiago Bernabeu.
There have been suggestions that Liverpool’s bid included players in exchange, with the likes of Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Sturridge possibly involved.
While Mbappe is on course to become one of the most exciting players in world football, Liverpool already secured the signing of Mohamed Salah in a £36.9 million deal on Thursday.
This would suggest that Klopp’s wide ranks are tied up for the upcoming campaign, with Salah joining Sadio Mane as the German’s first-choice pair.
Roberto Firmino is primed to remain as Klopp’s leading centre-forward, and opted to take the No. 9 shirt on Salah’s arrival, with the Egyptian wearing his old No. 11.
Philippe Coutinho can be expected to drop into a deeper role in midfield, with Klopp having hinted at a long-term berth behind the forward line towards the end of last season.
Nevertheless, if Liverpool did bid for Mbappe, this serves to underline their ambition this summer, with a series of further big-money moves set before the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk and RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita are Klopp’s primary targets, and each would require an outlay of at least £50 million to bring them to Anfield.
Salah was Liverpool’s second signing of the summer, following Dominic Solanke.
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