Jurgen Klopp has stressed internally that Liverpool should not and will not be forced into throwing hail marys in the transfer market, panicking into short-term solutions.
Against Arsenal before Christmas, Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas broke his collarbone after a collision, with Klopp grudgingly revealing that the Greece international will be sidelined for a long time.
Andy Robertson is also still out for around a month, but Liverpool will need to invest despite heading into the new year at the top of the Premier League table, and with a prudent, thought-out approach, the Reds might have identified the dream signing.
Liverpool transfer news – Kylian Mbappe
According to a recent report from talkSPORT, Liverpool are potentially set to be in the mix – alongside ‘frontrunners’ Real Madrid – to sign Kylian Mbappe this year, with the Paris Saint-Germain forward set to depart the French club on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.
Players who are in the final year of their contract can discuss terms with non-domestic clubs from January 1st, leaving Klopp’s side in a brilliant position to complete one of the Premier League’s gargantuan all-time transfers.
Valued at £113m by Football Transfers, Mbappe’s signature would be more than a little tricky to obtain but with Mohamed Salah’s future at Anfield up for debate, this deal could mark the ultimate statement of intent from Klopp.
Kylian Mbappe’s style of play
Without a doubt, Mbappe is one of the finest forwards of his generation. Having won the 2018 World Cup with France and clinched the tournament’s Young Player of the Year award after bagging four goals and an assist, iconic goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon went on to say: “he will make a mark in the history of football and write incredible pages of the sport.”
The 25-year-old has scored 233 goals and supplied 100 assists from 282 appearances for PSG, and with the Champions League – the one elusive prize left at club level – still out of reach, a move to a team of pedigree such as Liverpool or Los Blancos is the right move to continue his journey toward a place in the pantheon of all-time greats.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 5% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 2% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for pass completion, the top 5% for progressive passes, the top 1% for progressive carries and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90, highlighting the skills that have led Poland’s Piotr Zielinski to describe him as an “alien”.
Why Liverpool would need Kylian Mbappe
With a salary of £1.19m-per-week, signing Mbappe would be no easy feat for Klopp and co, but with Real Madrid handing the player a mid-January deadline and letting him know that he would have to take a pay cut, Liverpool definitely could swoop in.
They say that revenge is a dish best-served cold, and Liverpool could take great satisfaction in beating Real to the acquisition after Jude Bellingham signed for the LaLiga giants in a deal that could total £115m from Borussia Dortmund in the summer after a vested and long-standing interest from the Anfield side.
The prodigious England international has been in extraordinary form since the summer, posting 17 goals and five assists from just 21 outings from a No. 10 role.
Liverpool have been in fine fettle this term and will probably not rue the failed deal too much, especially considering that the Premier League title is very much attainable, but there is little question that it will have stung at the time.
Signing Mbappe would be the perfect way to mark a sense of retribution, adding a generational talent to the ranks who could lead the charge toward illustrious success for many years to come.
