Kylian Mbappe is reportedly ready to stay at Paris Saint-Germain instead of sealing a transfer to Real Madrid.
The France international has been widely expected to move to Real Madrid for some time now, but Le Parisien report that he’s happy at PSG and could sign a new contract before his current deal expires in the summer.
How does this affect Liverpool? Well, we can’t know for sure just yet, but one expects Madrid will not just sit back and accept the lack of an elite signing up front, with alternatives sure to be being lined up even as we speak.
Mbappe is one of the very finest players in the world and would have been ideal for Real, but a very acceptable Plan B could be awaiting them at Anfield – Mohamed Salah.
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The Egypt international is in the form of his life at the moment and is also in a slightly uncertain contract situation, with his current deal due to expire at the end of next season.
Salah has also sparked talk of a move to Spain in the past, giving a positive response to Marca when asked about possibly joining Real Madrid or Barcelona.
We’ve not seen that much else in terms of concrete transfer rumours regarding Salah being a target for Los Blancos, but there have been occasional murmurings, such as the Eden Hazard swap touted in the tweet below, but expect stories to emerge if it turns out Mbappe really is staying put at the Parc des Princes.
?Real Madrid plan to make an offer of Eden Hazard + money to Liverpool for Mo Salah.#LFC • #Liverpool | #HalaMadrid • #RealMadrid
?VOLE?
? https://t.co/FGB5A8DzJX pic.twitter.com/0BKegFrzY4— Ekrem KONUR (@Ekremkonur) October 15, 2021
Liverpool now surely need to act fast and secure a new deal for Salah, or else this is going to be a very rocky few months ahead of them.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have already lost ground in the Premier League title race, and if Manchester City continue to dominate the domestic scene over here, you couldn’t blame Salah for wondering if he’d be better off trying a new challenge in order to win more silverware.
The 29-year-old is already more or less guaranteed legendary status at Liverpool for all he’s achieved since joining the club five years ago, so in a way you couldn’t blame him for taking up the challenge of being one of Real’s latest Galacticos.
Of course, there’ll be other options out there for Madrid as well, with the likes of Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski also surely likely to be in their sights as Mbappe alternatives, but LFC should also be on alert after this news.
Liverpool know a thing or two about having their star names poached by La Liga’s giants, with Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho both leaving for Barcelona during their prime years.
Losing Salah, however, would surely be the biggest blow of all. Better hope Mbappe has a change of heart, Reds fans.