Liverpool are set to go after some highly talented players in the summer, as the club were even taking a look at Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe last summer. The 18-year-old has become one of the latest sensation in world football. He has helped Monaco win the league title and also reach the Champions League semi-finals. Despite his young age, Real Madrid have reportedly (Telegraph) made a £103 million offer for the player while Manchester United recently came in with a £72 million bid (Guardian)
The striker scored 26 goals in all competitions for the French club, including six goals in just nine appearances in the Champions League. The interest from Liverpool in signing Mbappe was as early as last season and it has been documented by Telegraph’s Chris Bascombe. He says:
“The club wanted to sign Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe last summer but were warned off. The fact a £103 million bid from Real Madrid was recently rejected means Liverpool are realistic about how high to set their transfer ambitions. Nevertheless, the promise of being in the Champions League will ensure Liverpool are at least discussing the most coveted names in European football. ”
One of the factors that could have prevented Liverpool from signing the player last summer was the absence of Champions League football. Yet, the club has managed to achieve this objective after finishing fourth in the Premier League. Even though the Merseyside outfit will have to go through a play-off in order to reach the group stages of the competition, Jurgen Klopp’s men are seen as overwhelming favourites.
Midfielder James Miller, though, reckons that it is a wrong approach to join Liverpool only for the Champions League football. He says that the club’s incredible history and heritage are attractive reasons to think about a move to Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp is reportedly set to receive a war chest in order to sign new players in the summer transfer window. The Liverpool boss has already impressed the owners with his passionate approach to the game and ability to transform Liverpool into an attractive team. These aspects were responsible in the manager receiving a six-year contract, which runs until the summer of 2022. However, it is imperative that the club possesses Champions League football in order to attract the best players.
It remains to be seen if Klopp will be ready to spend the entire transfer funds – reported to be around £100 million – on a single player. The German has never been the sort of manager to go after marquee names. Instead, his focus has always been finding the middle ground with players like Sadio Mane. It would not be surprising to see the 49-year-old go down the same route and possibly sign at least three players for the same money, Monaco are unlikely to drop their asking price of £120 million for the Kylian Mbappe.
