Kylian Mbappe: The big fish is in a small pond and must swim with the sharks

Sooraj Kamath - Writer 03:00 18/11/2018
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  • Kylian Mbappe

    A World Cup winner at 19, Kylian Mbappe has earned all the rights to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the giants of modern football.

    The French wonder kid can brag about possessing the best curriculum vitae since the legendary Pele himself. With Neymar failing to live up to the promise ever since he decided to ply trade in Paris Saint Germain’s colours, we might just be looking at the next big talent after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in Mbappe.

    However, to be mentioned in the same sentence as that duopoly – the two best of this generation – the World Cup winner still has a long way to go. To start with, the forward should consider a move to one of the teams in the top four leagues, preferably La Liga or the Premier League.

    Ligue 1? Too easy

    Mbappe became the first teenager to score a brace in the World Cup finals since Pele and tore apart Argentina in the Round of 16. However, he was relatively quiet against a sturdy Uruguayan defence in the quarter-finals and sub-par in the presence of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in the semi-final clash with Belgium.

    The 19-year-old likes match ups with slow defenders playing a high line, yet he’s failed to perform against more technical and intelligent defenders. This is evidenced by the fact the Frenchman was anonymous against Real Madrid in their Champions League Round of 16 tie last season.

    Matthijs de Ligt is challenged by Kylian Mbappe

    Matthijs de Ligt is challenged by Kylian Mbappe

    Mbappe failed to trouble Virgil van Dijk in PSG’s group stage fixture at Liverpool earlier this season and was totally suffocated by an overpowering Napoli giant Kalidou Koulibaly at Stadio San Paulo. More recently, he failed to draw sweat from young Dutch sensation Matthijs de Ligt.

    Incidentally, these defenders happen to constitute the top 90+ percentile of the defenders Mbappe has faced in the past season or so. If Mbappe is fighting to win the coveted crown from the two extra-terrestrials, the standards are extremely high and the margin of error is narrow.

    But how can one expect the youngster to perform against the very best when he’s involved in making a mockery of sub-par defenders in the Ligue 1 every weekend? PSG have won all the 13 games until now and will have one hand on the title by Christmas.

    His excellent record of 1.36 goals every 90 minutes says a lot about the defenders he’s had to put up with while representing the French capital.

    With all due respect to Ligue 1, Mbappe is already far too good for the league and is better off testing himself in Spain or England if he is to realise his massive potential.

    Need to expand skill-set

    The Frenchman’s key trait which has helped him get to the top is his incredible athleticism.

    Mbappe is super quick and has incredible acceleration, but he has to prove he’s much more than that. While pushing the ball and outpacing the defender to it might help the youngster against the likes of Marcus Rojo and Javier Mascherano, there’s enough evidence to conclude that pace alone won’t help the World Cup Winner against top defenders.

    Kylian Mbappe on the run against the Dutch

    Kylian Mbappe on the run against the Dutch

    Mbappe has to imbibe other attributes such as better reading of the game, improved technique and vision in order to justify his position in the upper echelons.

    These are the traits that will keep Mbappe at the top of his game after serious injuries which are bound to rock his career.

    Mbappe must ensure his game is not built around athleticism only and Welsh superstar Gareth Bale would surely agree with this. Touted to be the next big thing after Ronaldo, Bale failed to make it large after a series of injuries ruined his career as he had nothing to offer apart from pace and a fair bit of finishing.

    Simply put, Mbappe is at the end of his learning curve at PSG and complacency might prevent him from reaching the heights that destiny has planned for him.

    If he switches to any of the Madrid clubs, Barcelona or the top clubs in the Premier League, he will be able to learn a lot as an understudy to the likes of Messi, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and so on.

    The learning curve is longer and steeper in England and Spain and Mbappe must step out of his comfort zone.

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