PSG star Kylian Mbappe’s future remains in the balance with Spanish giants Real Madrid favorites to sign the striker after he turned down a move to Saudi Arabia
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has outlined the financial constraints that may have thwarted the club’s hopes of making a surprise move for Kylian Mbappe.
The 24-year-old’s future has been the subject of much speculation since he revealed his desire to leave France at the end of next season. However, furious at the prospect of losing a player they paid £166m for free, the Ligue 1 champions instead opted to try and sell him this summer.
PSG bosses were left furious after Mbappe refused to speak to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, despite their world record £259m bid being accepted. It now leaves Real Madrid in the lead, with many in the French capital believing the forward already has a deal in place to join them in 2024.
Unsurprisingly, there has been Premier League interest, with Liverpool among them. Mirror Football exclusively reports that the Reds have launched an investigation into signing Mbappe on a season-long loan deal. The 2018 World Cup winner has made no secret of his admiration for the club and manager Klopp, while his mother, Fayza Lamari, is a huge Liverpool fan.
But the Germany boss has moved to suggest that any approach for Mbappe would be extremely difficult – temporarily or permanently – with any club hoping to sign him needing to accept his huge wages. He also suggested that if the Anfield boss was in line to sign the PSG star he was not being told.
“We laughed about it,” he told Sky Germany. “I can say that I think he is a very good player, but the financial conditions did not suit us at all. I don’t want to spoil the story now, but as far as I can tell, nothing.”
Addressing the possibility of a move being made without him being consulted, he added: “It’s possible that someone else from the club is preparing something and wants to surprise me, but that hasn’t happened in the eight years I’ve been here. It will be the first time.
Klopp’s transfer plans will instead center on trying to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. The Saints have turned down Liverpool’s initial £38 million bid for the 19-year-old Belgian but are now poised for a second, better bid.
The midfielder was one of the few bright spots in Southampton’s dismal 2022/23 season, which saw them relegated from the Premier League. And efforts to bring him to Anfield were accelerated by the departure of club captain Jordan Henderson to Saudi side Al-Ettifaq.
Liverpool have spent around £100 million on the arrivals of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, but Klopp is adamant that more players are on the way.
“There are so many things to do,” he said last week. The transfer window opens. If my day had 28 hours currently, that wouldn’t be a problem – I could charge it easily!
“Still three-and-a-half weeks until the first game of the season. A few things have to happen before then, for sure, transfers also from the market side. That is clear now. And it will happen. New players have to come in. We will have a good team.”
