What position do you guys see him in the long term? will he be a central striker or more a wide forward like a Neymar sort of area?
Kylian Mbappé joins PSG on one year loan with option to buy
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He can play anywhere in the front three in one striker system or as a centre forward in two striker system. One thing I would say is that I see him playing alongside a target man, a poacher who compliments him. He likes taking on defenders inside the box which can sometimes send him wide and having a target man in the team allows him the freedom to do that. As a lone striker I just don't think he can be as good.
He would benefit from a freeish role off the left in a front three, or a second striker in a front two. Ala Ronaldo or Messi. Unlike Rashford or Martial who struggle to produce from out wide, Mbappe thrives, and has excellent delivery, especially for a player so young. His potenial is frightening.
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That's what I see as well. His movement is so dynamic that he will be wasted if asked to just stay in the middle of the pitch and occupy the center backs.
The one skill I haven't yet really seen in his locker is shooting from range but I expect that a player with his talents will refine that skill over time.
But this could swing either way. Some of Mpabbe's other team mates like Varane, Zouma and Pogba are also or have also been Jose's players and they think the world of him. Not sure what Benzema thinks about Jose but I recall Jose had a preference for him over Higuain back then. Maybe he might not share Ramos' disdain for his old boss. Plus, we are not really sure how Martial views his manager. It might not be as bad as it appears.
People were all saying he was guaranteed to win the Balon d'Or, and he's yet to come close. Of course he's become a wonderful footballer and up there with the best, but go back to this forum at the time Barca bought him and you'll see the expectation was that he would push Messi and Ronaldo off the top spot. It might sound crazy to guarantee any player will win the Balon d'Or, but no crazier than thinking a kid who's been playing senior football for six months is worth £140m.
He is yet to come close due to him being up against two of the greatest footballers of all time. Within 2-3 years, the award will be up for grabs and he will be vying for it than most of the others around.
The thing is, loads of potential superstars are tracked by all the big clubs for years and years then come to nothing. So in and of itself, that means very little. What matters is what he's done in senior football, because that's what turns that 'interest' from the big clubs into massive bids. I accept you (and plenty of others in this thread, clearly) think I'm underrating him. Ultimately, that's subjective - everyone sees different things when they watch a player. I don't really have a problem with the opinion that he's probably going to be amongst the world's best players. And although I haven't seen enough to share the opinion, it's certainly not stupid to suggest that he could win the Balon d'Or one day.
My problem is with accepting six months' worth of evidence as enough proof of that potential to spend not only a record-breaking amount, but almost two thirds again as much as the current record fee. Mbappé has shown enough to suggest he might win the Balon d'Or, but to absolutely shatter the ceiling like that you'd have to consider him a dead cert to do it. And there are players who look just as good as him over longer periods and in tougher circumstances who you couldn't honestly say that about. This is why Ronaldo is such a pertinent comparison: his fee, back then, was in a similar sort of ball park. It seemed an insane amount of money to spend on one player. For years the record had been Zizou's £46m, and they'd just broken that to get Kaka for £56m. But Ronaldo was already the joint-best player in the world, that season's Balon d'Or winner.
That was how much evidence a similarly crazy fee demanded at the time - he basically had to already be the single best player in the world.
Mbappé has been playing regular senior football for six months.
As for the 'it'll seem like a bargain in the future' argument, it's bad logic. Everyone exists in the same market at the same time. If you could buy a young Rio Ferdinand now for £30m you'd think you were dreaming, but that doesn't somehow mean it was a bargain at the time.
That was entirely the known situation at the time. People were saying he would unseat the pair of them.
Anyway, he won't ever win it now because Mbappé's going to be getting it, right?
he only wants to leave for Real?
It is natural for people to be skeptical of a 18 year old who, after a whirlwind period of 6-8 months, is touted as a future Balon d'Or winner, someone who will supposedly replace Ronaldo at Real Madrid. But looking at the kid, one can't help but think that he has all the tools in his arsenal needed to be one of the World's best. When Real Madrid or any other other team pay that audacious sum of money to Monaco, they are paying it for the best U21 attacker in the world. Can you please name even 5 U-21 players who look as good as him as you have mentioned in your comment?
He has good dribbling skills, excellent passing skills, good inherent understanding of the game, top notch movement and finishing(comparable to the current top players like Suarez, Cavani etc.). These look scary enough when put together, but the scariest thing about him is his decision making and maturity. Other than Messi and probably R9 Ronaldo, I don't remember seeing someone so young who has such an "almost" impeccable sense of things. His timing of when to pass, dribble or shoot is incredible, he is so complete in his skill set when compared to the best attackers in his age group like Ousmane, Asensio, Jesus, Brandt, Martial, Alli, Rashford, Sane. And he has shown that he has a a pretty good head on the shoulders which will come handy once he gets even better and the adulation increases.
Also, Do you actually disagree that Rio Ferdinand was a bargain for us in the long run? Or that Cristiano Ronaldo was a bargain for Real Madrid? Their deals might have been expensive at that time, but when taking into factor their achievements and contributions to their clubs, it would be nothing but a bargain for the club. Mbappe, although is still largely unproven and the biggest thing remains to be seen is his play and that is consistency. That is what defines the World's best players. Messi, Cristiano who have been doing it for so many years, followed by Neymar, Hazard, Bale, Griezmann, Sanchez who are attempting to reach the levels of consistency of the two Gods. For Mbappe, unfortunately, only time will reveal whether he will be able to reach the starry ceiling, but no top clubs wants to miss out the chance to get the next probable superstar of the future, hence, the bids of more than 100 millions for an 18 year old.
Football, like many other sports is unpredictable.So many different factors come into play in making a player from very good to one of the World's best. So, it would be foolish to guarantee the fact that someone is nailed on to be a tremendous success or an abject failure. But Kylian Mbappe Lottin is well on his way to the path of success.
Propaganda. They do not have access to that sort of information.
What do you feel would be the problem with paying, say, £120m for him?
Let's imagine he doesn't turn out to be worth the money - what's the damage?
yep. even if he doesnt end up being world class, and just ends up being decent we'll probably still be able to get most of the back in a few years if we wanted to.
About £120m.
That's two £60m players we didn't get.
How do you figure that? If he's not good enough for us to even want to keep him, why would anyone pay anywhere near that amount for him? United have only ever got decent money for players we wanted to keep.
Which two players, though? Are they available? What if those players don't work out or aren't value for money?
Why not buy 4 players for £30m instead?
For United to get back to the top we need quality, top quality, not quantity.
Yep, with the absolute guarantee that it'll be worth by far the biggest outlay ever on a player provided by... six months of senior football.
Plus I think it's a little harsh, even in today's truly daft market, to describe buying two £60m players as 'quantity not quality'. That's two players each worth more than we've ever spent on a footballer bar Pogba.
I know it's transfer season, but the whole caf has lost its melon.
He'd not necessarily, in fact very unlikely, be the only signing we'd make. We could probably stretch to a couple of £60m signings in addition to Mbappe, depending on who we sell. I appreciate we have a team to continue to build and wouldn't want to spend everything we have on one player. I just think sometimes a player comes along who's worth the gamble, provided we can afford to buy him and accept the hit if it doesn't work out.
No matter, I was just trying to get a handle on whether it was an affordability, value-for-money, or generally not convinced about the player, issue you had.
Thanks.
The latter two, basically. It looks increasingly like anything is 'affordable' for us if we want it enough. But regardless of our opinion of the player, six months is not enough time to make a decision to spend that sort of money. He could have scored sixty goals and I'd still recommend leaving it unless he came a lot cheaper than that. And yeah, I don't think any player on the planet is worth £140m, even in today's market. If either Ronaldo or Messi were four/five years younger, sure. We were going to spend £90m on Griezmann, the Balon d'Or bronze medallist and guaranteed superstar in his prime. How is Mbappé worth half as much again?
That's just the way the market is. Believe me, if clubs are willing to spend that much, they have done their homework. It's not just based on performance on the field alone, but in marketing as well. I really don't believe the £140m valuation. I don't think he will be quite that expensive. He may be a world-record, but he will not beat Pogba's fee by that much, at least not without some very difficult-to-attain clauses like winning the Ballon d'Or.
For myself, when you're dealing with a youngster like that with very little experience but great stats, I try to find anything I can think of in how that will not last. I can't think of anything with Mbappe bar injuries. He is someone who, even when he's having a bad game (like I felt he had against England), he's still dangerous and being noticed. That's a great sign for a young player. I believe he is 100% the real deal and barely scratching the surface of his potential. He will have a 40-goal season one day, I am certain of that. And that potential is what clubs are willing to pay for.
Personally, I think the main question the caf and Manchester United fans have to ask themselves is if they're okay paying a world-record fee for a player that will stay at best for 4-5 years before he pushes for a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona. This is his ultimate goal, and any clubs he joins in the meantime is simply a stepping stone to that.
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Just came across this, which kind of discusses the point of so much hype for only 6 months of production. I tend to agree with the analysts on this one, everything I see about the kid makes me believe he's the real deal.
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Read Arsenal are interested and he is impressed with Wenger.
Makes me wonder why we weren't inundated with offers for Rashford after his breakout season.
Could see him at arsenal for 3-4 years then on to Spain
We are not a selling club while Monaco is. Mbappe has already excelled in the CL while Rashford only had 2 goals against a Danish side in the EL. And 8 goals in 18 appearances is not the same as 26 goals in 44 appearances.
Some of the hype about this kid is sickening to read. He clearly is/ will be an excellent player but in my own lifetime (aged 40) watching mainly domestic English football I've seen players better than him at the same age.
I cannot recall the last time i've seen a 18 year old being sought after by the very best clubs in the world like this, maybe Neymar but even he was more established before moving to Barcelona.
Yeah it's really strange to see all the clubs queuing up for his signature especially at the prices being quoted. Even stranger to see Arsenal and Liverpool being part of the clubs that are in for him! I sure hope we stay well clear of this and go for more suitable targets.
Even we were linked to him I think. If all these top clubs/managers are going after him for that ridiculous price they must believe he's incredible.
How's it strange? Top clubs have been courting him since he was 12-13. He's not a 1 season wonder as far as they're concerned. Hoping we stay well clear of an absolutely incredible young player is something I just can't relate to.
People still doubting Mbappe? Terrible attitude and injuries aside, he'll be one of the best players of his generation, if not the best.
That being said, I don't think we can afford to pay that cash for potential (even though he's already a good player). We have more pressing concerns to address.
That being said, I don't think we can afford to pay that cash for potential (even though he's already a good player). We have more pressing concerns to address.
I just don't want us to spend 100m plus on a single player when we need strengthening in so many other areas. If he was someone already world class like Sanchez who can lift our game by a few levels then fine but he is himself a young player who needs to be nurtured. An already well set team can afford to take the risk but not us. Just my opinion though.
Well, unless something crazy happens, he is Real bound but a club of our resources simply goes in for him if there's a chance of getting him. All deals are structured over years so we make an exception and get him while still getting the ones we wanted originally. I do agree our need is more immediate and that's what our priority would be, I'm just saying when a player like him becomes available, you get him.
Ofcourse we can afford it. I think people underestimate our spending prowess. If we can afford Ronaldo, 100mil for Mbappe over and above whatever our plan is for the window is no problem. It's all structured in parts anyways.
There is so much talk of "in this market" 60m is cheap and etc. but hardly anyone so far this window has moved for an extravagant amount. All reasonable prices so far.
100m Lukaku, 120m Mbappe don't mean anything unless somebody pays that.
100m Lukaku, 120m Mbappe don't mean anything unless somebody pays that.
It's not the price it's the age and end product. That price should be set out for someone ready to hit his peak. He still needs development.
Never said we couldn't, just that we can't spend 100m+ on a kid, who for all we know will still blow hot and cold for a few years, when we have several positions we need to strengthen. We need proven quality, not players who are coming off the back of one good season at the age of 18. As good as Mbappe is, you could buy players currently better than he is for far cheaper. We need established players, not another talent to nurture.
The reason why clubs are lining up for him now is that he'll be priced out of the market once he hits his peak. It's now or never because let's face it, no one's luring him from Real couple of years down the line but if you get him now and keep him for few years, there's a great chance Real are priced out of a move.
Ah okay, you mean we can hut shouldn't. That's a matter of opinion, fair enough.
Arsenal are not going to pay 120m pounds on a single player. Especially not in an 18 years old player.
Must be blind, don't think he'll be that good for us if he can't see.
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