Why Manchester City must go all out to sign Kylian Mbappe
Defending champions Manchester City have started their Premier League season the same way they finished it. After seven games, the club are currently in the first place with 19 points. But an area of concern for City is the Champions League.
They suffered a humiliating 2-1 loss at home to Lyon in their opening group game but avenged themselves with a 2-1 win against Hoffenheim recently. If City want to become a top club in Europe, however, they must strengthen their squad further.
A report from Manchester Evening News has claimed that Manchester City are keeping track of Kylian Mbappe. The report also adds that the club could offer Raheem Sterling to Paris Saint-Germain as a sweetener.
City are already the best team in England but Mbappe’s arrival will surely turn them into a force to reckon with across Europe as well. The Frenchman was on a season-long loan with PSG for the 2017/18 season but he did join them for a staggering £165.7million.
In 25 Ligue 1 starts last season, he scored 13 goals and assisted 7 more. He had 35 shots on target and also completed 82 dribbles. He has continued the same form in the ongoing season as well.
Mbappe announced himself to the world by being an integral part of the title-winning AS Monaco side. His 15 goals and 8 assists helped the French club win their first league trophy in 17 years. He also took the Champions League by storm when his six goals in six games took underdogs Monaco into the semi-finals.
If the 2016/17 season was a great one for Mbappe, the World Cup 2018 turned out to a bigger stage for the 19-year-old – a stage where he established his status as one of the superstars of the modern game. His 4 goals in 6 games helped Les Bleus lift the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.
His arrival at the Etihad will make City an unstoppable force in England. Defenders in the Premier League already struggle to contain the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane. With the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne providing all the services, the Frenchman could break all goalscoring records in England.
Also, Sergio Aguero is 30 and Mbappe, who can play either as a right-winger or a striker, could be an able successor for the Argentine.
Modern day football is a strange world where weird transfers happen on a daily basis. Although Mbappe’s move to City looks improbable for now, we never know how things might turn out in the future.