Arsenal make €100m bid for Kylian Mbappé
Premier League side Arsenal have made a concrete €100m offer for AS Monaco forward Kylian Mbappé, according to L’Équipe.
The Gunners, in the largest bid the club has ever made for a footballer in their history, have moved into attack mode following the 2-year contract extension of Arsène Wenger.
Wenger was exceptionally close to convincing Mbappé to sign a professional contract with Arsenal last summer, having even visited the player in Monaco in an attempt to make the move work.
The Mbappé clan has been previously noted to have enormous respect for Wenger, but Real Madrid and Manchester City have both made very forceful bids too, verbal offers of around €120m, with Manchester United also rumoured to have bid for the player .
As it stands, it would appear that Real Madrid (Mbappé’s eventual dream club) lead the race for Mbappé, with Manchester United in last place because the player does not like the way they play football, the latter assertion has been reported by L’Équipe before.
It is important to note that the exact nature of the fees offered to AS Monaco this summer are unlikely to have a real impact on Mbappé’s destination. The Principality side do not need to sell – rather they will respect whatever Mbappé’s wish is and act accordingly.
Monaco have in the meantime made Mbappé a contract extension offer.
Friday 2nd June – 07:00 BST: (Updated story)
The L’Équipe report in full published this morning has additional claims within it to add to our reporting from last night.
They claim that Arsenal will attack this transfer window like never before with the intention to sign a world class player in every single line of the field (presumably all four: goalkeeper, defence, midfield, attack). They also assert that the €120m figure that was reported in the press in recent days as the club’s budget was put out there falsely.
Despite Arsenal’s bid being a club record offer, it is underneath Manchester City and Real Madrid’s and it comes from a club that will miss out on the Champions’ League for the first time since 1997.
The French daily asserts that Wenger is prepared to place Kylian Mbappé at the centre of the club’s project. At the beginning of 2016, Arsenal were one of three sides vying for Mbappé’s signature on a professional contract, alongside Liverpool and PSG.
Mbappé’s future will not be clear for several weeks. Mbappé and his entourage continue to refuse to speak to any club whatsoever until after his season is completely finished, a very unique approach which they should be praised for.
Mbappé is also very far from excluding the possibility of staying another season at Monaco, where he still has another two years contract. Like his team-mates, his decision could depend on how many of Monaco’s stars the club hold on to this summer.
