Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim hints Kylian Mbappe could leave

Sport360 staff 08:56 06/08/2017
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  • Kylian Mbappe.

    Monaco are determined to hold onto Kylian Mbappe insisting the player has not asked to leave the club but coach Leonardo Jardim has hinted they may not be able to keep the teenage striker.

    Mbappe, 18, remains a transfer target for all of Europe’s top clubs with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United all, at one stage, believed to be at the front of the queue.

    Monaco’s price is understood to be set at €180m (Dh778m) but the prospect of him leaving grew with reports on Friday that he has told coach Leonardo Jardim he wants out of the Principality.

    However, vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said: “He must take the right decision, there’s a lot of interest. He has never expressed a desire to leave. Never!”

    Mbappe played 75 minutes for the defending champions on Friday night in their season-opening 3-2 win over Toulouse before exiting with a knee injury. There was some concern the injury was serious with claims post-match of a muscle tear as Mbappe’s knee was heavily strapped, but those claims have been shot down by the club.

    Jardim, who has seen Benjamin Mendy, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva leave this summer, said: “It’s important to keep all of the players who were important last season.

    “But down the years it has been shown that it is not always possible to keep hold of your players and you know how our project works.

    “Therefore, our objective is to work with the players that are still here when the window closes.”

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