Arsenal and Liverpool aren't actively looking to sign PSG forward Kylian Mbappe in the summer transfer window despite recent links, according to reports.
It comes as the Frenchman plays out another high profile transfer saga with his current club, with his current contract at Parque des Princes dwindling. Mbappe signed a two-year deal with the option of another 12 months last summer, but that extension was in his hands and not the club's.
The forward informed PSG that he wouldn't be triggering the extension, meaning that he is now into the final year of his deal with them. It has led to outrage, with the hierarchy at the Ligue 1 champions claiming that a new contract must be signed or there must be a transfer this summer.
Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told the media in an unveiling of new head coach Luis Enrique: "We want him to stay but he can't leave for free. There was a verbal agreement and he had discussed it in an interview...
"It's for him to decide for himself next week, or at most in the next two weeks. And if he does not want to sign a new contract, the door is open. It's like that for him and everyone else. Nobody is bigger than the club, no player, not even me. It's very clear. By the standards of football, you never see your best player leave for free. It just doesn't happen."
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However, that is assuming a suitable offer is received from a club willing to pay big money for a player that looks set to become a free agent in a year. Real Madrid have often been linked, with their president Florentino Perez making his ambitions of signing the Frenchman clear.
However, so too have Arsenal and Liverpool in the past few weeks, with the Gunners claimed to be the preference of Mbappe if he were to move to the Premier League. However, according to journalist Ben Jacobs in an interview with CaughtOffside, there are no talks from either team at this stage.
"Right now PSG are just waiting on Mbappe," Romano says. "But if there is no breakthrough they will actively put him on the market. Real Madrid would still prefer to wait until next summer and sign Mbappe on a free, but would consider moving now if the price is right. Quite clearly if it’s sky high, with wages and agent fees on top, there will be very few clubs able to afford the deal – probably only the Saudi ones, and Mbappe does not appear to have any interest in moving to the Saudi Pro League.
"What I am told, though, is PIF dealmakers would love to take him for a year, even knowing he would then leave for Real or elsewhere. But Mbappe wants to compete in the Champions League and not take a one-season exodus from it. Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked with Mbappe but neither are actively considering him."
It remains to be seen whether that could change in the coming weeks or if a free deal next year could tempt either club into making their move. However, for now, it seems there's a stalemate between PSG and Mbappe that will have to be decided upon first in the transfer market.
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