Monaco are at the centre of a sensational transfer tornado. The Ligue 1 champions have agreed to a fee of £92million with Arsenal for Thomas Lemar but that deal is being held up as they look to secure Angel Di Maria as part of a transfer which will see Kylian Mbappe move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Indeed, Mbappe’s switch from Monaco to PSG has been delayed as the Parisians attempt to figure out how they can sign the forward and remain within Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, according to respected French daily L’Equipe.
The 18-year-old has apparently passed a medical and was set to join the club on loan with an automatic €180million purchase option activated next summer.
Trying to established if Lemar turned Arsenal down. Other complicating factors – Di Maria/Mbappe – but all irrelevant if Lemar reluctant
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) August 31, 2017
By delaying the purchase for a year, PSG will remain within the FFP limits with the fee not taking into account this season given they are already stretching their buying potential after the €222million acquisition of Neymar from Barcelona earlier this summer.
The French Football Federation are yet to sanction the initial loan move and the hold up has had a knock-on effect with Arsenal now refusing to sell Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City with the club now establishing they don’t have enough time to sign Lemar because of the Mbappe issue.
The Telegraph are reporting, that PSG would be willing to sell Germany international Julian Draxler to the Gunners but according to the British outlet, the 23-year-old is against a move away from Paris having only signed from Wolfsburg in January.
