Playing for 90
Fansided

Manchester United and Manchester City should give up on Kylian Mbappe

By Rucker Haringey

CLAIREFONTAINE, FRANCE - MARCH 20: French Football Team forward Kylian Mbappe during the training session on March 20, 2017 in Clairefontaine, France. The training session comes before the upcoming qualifying match against Luxembourg next saturday for the 2018 World Cup. (Photo by Frederic Stevens/Getty Images)
CLAIREFONTAINE, FRANCE - MARCH 20: French Football Team forward Kylian Mbappe during the training session on March 20, 2017 in Clairefontaine, France. The training session comes before the upcoming qualifying match against Luxembourg next saturday for the 2018 World Cup. (Photo by Frederic Stevens/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Neither Manchester United or City should pay Monaco’s asking price

Kylian Mbappe has the talent to become a star at Manchester United, Manchester City or any other big club he chooses. That doesn’t mean that the Premier League giants should continue chasing the French starlet though.

Frankly, Monaco have gone a bit crazy with their valuation. Recent reports claim that Monaco have actually turned down a world-record £96 million bid from an unnamed English club. While I don’t really believe that for a moment, it does show just how much Monaco might want for the young striker.

At that sort of astronomical price, he just isn’t worth it. We’re talking about a very talented 18-year-old here, but he’s far from the finished product. He’s managed to score 12 goals in 22 league appearances this season, but only has earned a Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.05. Again, those are excellent marks for a player of his age, but it’s not the production you’d expect from a player commanding such a staggering transfer fee.

Contrast Mbappe with fellow countryman Alexandre Lacazette. He certainly has more talented than the Lyon hitman, but Lacazette has significantly bettered his production this year. I’m not saying that’s likely to continue many years into the future, but the transfer values of the two shouldn’t be so different.

More from Manchester United

As it stands, most believe that Lacazette could be had for something in the neighborhood of £40 million. That’s half the likely required fee for Mbappe. Splashing a mountain of cash on the young starlet just wouldn’t be wise spending from either United or City.

City already have their goal scoring starlet of the future in the form of Gabriel Jesus. Even if you (and I don’t) believe that Sergio Aguero is finished, Jesus is certainly in Pep Guardiola’s long-term plans. Acquiring Mbappe could easily stunt the growth of both starlets.

United also are blessed with a very talented young centre forward. Many fans, and Jose Mourinho, seem to have forgotten about Marcus Rashford this season, but he’s still a very talented player. Paying a ransom for Mbappe would likely end Rashford’s chances of leading the line at Old Trafford.

Next: Everton should snub Rooney

Kylian Mbappe is a brilliant talent who is worth a lot of money. He is not, however, worth anything approaching the world record transfer fee. If that’s the price Monaco require for his services, United and City should allow the French giants to keep their starlet for another season.

Home/Manchester United