Former PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino has told Kylian Mbappe what he needs to do to become a complete player.
France took on Poland in the World Cup round of 16, with Pochettino watching on from the BBC studio.
The Argentine watched closely as his former player Mbappe was impressive during the first half, but Pochettino does believe Mbappe now needs to take his game to the next level, and he’s given him some advice on how to do so.
“It’s easy for him,” Pochettino said live on BBC One (at approx 3:50 p.m. UK time).
“That is so easy for him [to beat defenders]. What he needs now to be a really, really complete player is to read better the space, when he needs to go inside, how he needs to receive in between the lines, use the pocket […] He needs to be more involved in the game.
“Of course, he is a great talent, we can see [that], but [his decisions] are all similar actions. When he has time with the ball and space to run, he’s impossible to stop but afterwards, he needs to be more involved. He needs to be a more complete player.”
It may seem like Pochettino is being a little critical of Mbappe, but he’s worked very closely with him during his time at PSG. Mbappe isn’t yet the finished package – a scary thought due to his sensational ability at such a young age.
France will undoubtedly be pinning most of their World Cup hopes on Mbappe this winter, which could be a lot of unnecessary pressure for a young player.