James Pearce has rubbished reports linking Liverpool with a big-money move for Kylian Mbappe this summer, branding such rumours as “ridiculous”.
With the World Cup-winner’s future in Paris still in some doubt, despite PSG’s best efforts to tie their star forward down on a long-term, lucrative contract, elite European sides have cast their gazes to the French capital ahead of the summer transfer window.
“The funniest thing I read this week was that Liverpool ‘theoretically have £200m to buy Mbappe this summer’,” the journalist wrote in a Q&A for The Athletic. “It’s ridiculous, especially when you take a step back and consider the financial impact of the pandemic.”
Considering the Frenchman’s reported asking price – not to mention his likely sky-high wage demands – it seems somewhat unlikely that any club will be able to afford a punt on the striker this year.
Under the current financial circumstances, the Reds would find it extremely difficult to amass the necessary capital without ditching one of their own prolific forwards.
The question would then be what Liverpool are actually adding to the side, should one of Mo Salah and co. part ways.
Obviously, they would have a once-in-a-generation talent available for selection for potentially the next decade, but the hierarchy would have to question whether it would only balance (at least initially) the departure of a Sadio Mane or the Egyptian.
Despite claims to the contrary from some sections of the fanbase, the club’s future success domestically and abroad won’t necessarily be defined by whether we are capable of signing a talent of the calibre of Mbappe or Erling Haaland.