Pep Guardiola out to snatch £51m wonderkid from Arsenal and Tottenham grasp as part of £140m splurge

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly keen on signing £51m-rated Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe, but faces stiff competition.

The 18-year-old lived up to expectations in the Champions League clash with City last week, as he continues to draw early comparisons with compatriot Thierry Henry.

In turn, as reported by Le Parisien, both Arsenal and Tottenham are keen on signing him but have been told by the Ligue 1 outfit that he won’t be leaving for anything less than £51m.

Mbappe has scored 19 goals and providing 14 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions so far this season, and so it’s been pretty clear as to why he’s attracting attention from the top clubs in England.

He’s also bagged seven goals in 11 games for France U19s to further underline his potential, and so now it remains to be seen who wins the race to prise him away from Monaco at the end of the season.

As for City’s interest, it’s claimed by The Sun that Guardiola is eager to beat both north London giants to his signature, but that isn’t the only quality young talent that the Spaniard is monitoring.

The report adds that Thomas Lemar, Fabinho and Benjamin Mendy are all on City’s radar, and would cost £30m apiece which would potentially take their spending over £140m this summer.

It’s unlikely that Guardiola will do all of his shopping at Monaco though, even though it’s claimed that Monaco are willing to listen to offers and will continue to cash in on their homegrown talents as they did with Anthony Martial in 2015.

Talk that City are keen on Mbappe will be a concern for Arsenal and Spurs though, as he looks like the pick of the bunch when it comes to the current crop at Monaco and is seemingly set for a big future elsewhere.

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