Kylian Mbappe: Liverpool given major Fabrizio Romano update on superstar signing as Victor Osimhen discussions are held

James Marshment 13 Jan 2024 10:07 AM

Kylian Mbappe and Victor Osimhen are both on Real Madrid radar as Liverpool watch developments

Fabrizio Romano has delivered a big update on the future of Kylian Mbappe as Liverpool wait anxiously to see what Real Madrid decide to do next over the PSG superstar and amid another big reveal on the future of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

Mbappe is arguably the biggest name in the game these days with the 25-year-old seen by many as the natural heir to the title of world’s best player, which has been battled over by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the best part of 15 years. And with his contract at PSG due to expire in six months time, the future of Mbappe is starting to dominate transfer gossip columns once again.

Quite where he will end up though remains subject to plenty of speculation and conjecture. For example, Foot Mercato last week claimed Mbappe had agreed a pre-contract agreement to join Real Madrid with their sources indicating an announcement would come to light soon.

However, Mbappe’s camp took umbrage to that report, insisting the forward has not made any decision on his future at this point in time, while the forward himself also insists he will leave a verdict on his future until the end of the season, also revealing he has not ruled out staying with PSG.

But with the Spanish giants seemingly setting Mbappe a deadline of January 15 to make a decision over a move to the Bernabeu, Mbappe now has just two days to decide on that move if Real are to not pull the plug and withdraw their interest.

Clearly Mbappe will not be held to ransom by Real and it’s reported that his stance at wanting to decide on a move at the season’s end has not gone down well with club officials.

As a result, Liverpool have been tipped as strong contenders to sign Mbappe if a move to Real fails.

Liverpool watch Kylian Mbappe transfer developments closely

The upshot of Mbappe’s stance now means the Spanish press are hugely belligerent over the chances of Real landing the 25-year-old.

To that end, Mundo Deportivo now report that Real’s chances of signing Mbappe are already over, while AS now claims club officials would prefer instead to sign Napoli sensation Osimhen.

Of course, the chances of a move to Liverpool are pretty remote too, purely down to the hugely-significan wage demands of Mbappe, which range anywhere between £700,000 a week to £1.2m a week. Either way, those sort of demands would act like a sledgehammer to the Reds’ current wages structure.

And to put into context, their top earner is currently Mo Salah on £350,000 a week – a deal that is due to expire in summer 2025.

Nonetheless, MD are adamant a move to Anfield is viable for Mbappe, with owner John W Henry ‘on a personal mission’ to bring the global phenomenen in.

Part of that plan would see Salah sacrificed to Saudi, with the prospect of a £200m sale, together with savings on his £350,000 wages being used to fund Mbappe’s wages, with a number of high-profile endorsements helping make up any shortfall.

Despite that, it still remains a significant financial stretch from a Liverpool point of view, with most of the noises about a move to Anfield coming from France and Spain only, at this stage.

Fabrizio Romano comments on Mbappe saga and reveals all on Osimhen

Amid claims too that Real officials now prefer Osimhen, trusted transfer reporter Romano has delivered a key update on the saga.

And the Italian insists no amount of media pressure will influence Mbappe’s decision to decide on his future any sooner.

“Despite the rumours, Kylian Mbappe has not indicated the timing to announce his future move,” Romano told Caught Offside.

“His family statement confirmed last week that ‘no rumours will put pressure on Kylian’s timing’, so… we have to wait.”

Romano is also adamant that the future of Osimhen will have no bearing on Mbappe either.

And while the Nigerian has signed a new Napoli deal with a clause allowing him to leave for €120m (£103.2m), the striker has made it clear that he will not consider a move in the winter window.

“There’s absolutely nothing new on Victor Osimhen, including a move to Real Madrid instead of Mbappe,” Romano added.

“As I said many times before, nothing is happening for Osimhen in January so it’s one that we will see what happens in the summer.

“Nothing is concrete and nothing is serious now!”

PSG chief speaks out on star man’s future

Amid the chaos around Mbappe, one calm voice of reason on the player has come from Paris Saint-Germain, where president Nasser al-Khelaifi has reminded the player that his team represent the very best place for the superstar to continue his career.

And with Al-Khelaifi refusing to hurry the player into a decision, his patient approach could yet pay dividends.

“I want Kylian to stay, that’s clear,” he told RMC Sport. “He’s the best player in the world, and the best thing for him is PSG. He is the centre of the project. From a sporting point of view, we’ve given him everything. He has an agreement with me.

“Kylian is a great man, a great player, but also a great person. As he said after the Champions Trophy, he has an agreement with me. It’s between us, I don’t want to reveal what’s in this agreement, but there is an agreement.

“I don’t want to talk about money or say how much the deal is worth. We have a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, our agreement is not about money. It’s between a player and the president of the club, the sporting director and the coach. It’s more than a signed agreement.”