Jurgen Klopp has commented on the transfer gossip linking Liverpool with a sensational move for Kylian Mbappe.
The 24-year-old French forward appears destined to leave Paris Saint-Germain either this summer or next, after informing his club that he won’t be agreeing to extend his deal beyond 2024.
As a result, the Ligue 1 champions have put their star player up for sale in a bid to recoup some cash and mitigate the massive loses on a player they’ve invested hundreds of millions in over the last five years.
While most smart reporting indicates that Mbappe has already agreed terms with Real Madrid for next year, Liverpool have been among the clubs touted as a potential destination for the striker, if PSG manage to force a transfer this summer.
One report even claimed the Reds would offer to take the former Monaco player on loan for a season before handing him over to Madrid.
The idea of Mbappe rocking up at Anfield in 2023/24 was already a total non-starter for myriad reasons (read them here) but now Klopp himself has put speculation to bed by insisting that there’s ‘nothing’ to the story – unless he’s being kept in the dark.
“We laugh about it,” the Liverpool boss told Sky Germany, when asked about the Mbappe speculation.
“I can say that I think he’s a really good player, but the financial conditions don’t suit us at all.
“I wouldn’t like to ruin the story now, but as far as I know, there’s nothing to it. But it’s possible that someone else from the club is preparing something and wants to surprise me, but that hasn’t happened in the eight years that I’ve been here. That would be the first time.”
Meanwhile, in more likely transfer news, Liverpool appear ready to submit a new £45m bid for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, amid the spectre of competition from Chelsea and even Manchester United.
