Liverpool transfers news: Is Mbappe a viable addition to Liverpool or Arsenal?

Could Kylian Mbappe really be a realistic target for Liverpool or Arsenal?

As usual, Kylian Mbappe’s future has been in the news, with rumours that Liverpool and Arsenal are considering the financial terms of a possible transfer. But if Mbappe does ultimately decide to leave PSG, I believe it’s important to note that it’s quite difficult to see him turning down Real Madrid.

Regardless of whether it’s Arsenal, Liverpool, or another team, if he leaves PSG, it will be to join Real Madrid. Though it’s a dream and objective of his, it’s not really equivalent to affection for someone like Liverpool or a desire to play in the Premier League. The question is whether it will happen in the coming months or later in the future.

Mbappe’s admiration for Liverpool is not new, and the player has spoken nothing but praise for them. However, he has a strong emotional bond with Real Madrid because he was raised as a supporter of the team. He has a clear career goal in mind, thus it seems inevitable that he will play for Real Madrid at some point.

Mbappe’s next chance to join Real Madrid will come at the beginning of 2024, when he will be in the last six months of his contract. Although there have been rumours that Real Madrid may set a deadline to complete this, no one is any the wiser as to what Mbappe could or might not do. That wouldn’t be very well welcomed, in my opinion, as there are still a lot of questions around Mbappe’s future and PSG’s project is just getting started with more French talent in the lineup. There is noticeable improvement being made because, despite just making it through a challenging group, they are still in the Champions League and are atop Ligue 1.

There are advantages, and PSG appears to be headed in the right direction. However, they weren’t producing the same amount of opportunities as they have this season when they had players like Neymar and Lionel Messi. Naturally, Mbappe’s future will be impacted by PSG’s success in the Champions League. After all, he wants to win the competition, having watched Erling Haaland win it with Manchester City. Therefore, PSG must address the important question of whether this current project will allow Mbappe to achieve the Champions League success he so desperately desires in the near future.

You wouldn’t consider PSG to be the favourites based on their performance in the Champions League thus far this season, but teams have occasionally emerged from the group rounds and gone on unexpected runs. I do believe that PSG will be a team that opponents will want to stay away from, and they might have a fortunate run into the closing stages. There are a lot of moving parts here, so I doubt Mbappe would be grateful if Real Madrid gave him a timetable to make a decision.

Even though I don’t think anything will be decided by January, there will undoubtedly be a lot of talk regarding Mbappe. Due to the Premier League’s evident financial power, it’s even possible that this will help teams like Liverpool or Arsenal, who will then be ready to strike if, for whatever reason, things don’t work out with Real Madrid.

However, there are other factors to consider. Mbappe has been a part of PSG and Ligue 1 for a considerable amount of time, and he is now in a position to potentially make league history in addition to club history. Perhaps Mbappe wants to leave his mark on French football so profoundly that he stays and attempts to create records that might not be surpassed for decades or even forever. The financial state of Ligue 1 is another issue to consider; new TV agreements may help matters there, which may encourage Mbappe to remain in France.

We also know that Mbappe has approved of PSG’s extensive roster purge; the team now appears to be playing as a cohesive one rather than just when Mbappe or other elite players are performing well. As we seen last night with Warren Zaire-Emery, PSG now has a generational talent who can share the load with Mbappe without taking away from the position that Mbappe plays. Other players are also capable of pulling them out of tight situations. There are several factors to consider while speculating on Mbappe’s future because he was raised in Paris and has an additional connection to PSG due to his academy education. It’s not as easy as picking a choice in the first few weeks of January, in my opinion.

Just to be clear, though, I still find it impossible to imagine Mbappe turning down Real Madrid in lieu of a transfer to the Premier League. It is my understanding that he has an unquestionable goal of playing for Real Madrid, but he would also like to try himself in the Premier League at some time in the future. These are more of preferences than goals.

To be really honest, I don’t think Mbappe would be as drawn to Arsenal as he would be to Real Madrid. Of course, Thierry Henry would be compared, but I don’t believe that history would play a role in any choice. Arsenal under Arsene Wenger was the Arsenal that kind of flirted with Mbappe when he was a bright young kid at Monaco, and Arsenal now is very different from that Arsenal.

In my opinion, Mbappe would seriously consider joining Arsenal if an offer were made and Real Madrid withdrew from the picture. Arsenal is an appealing idea right now. Although I believe Liverpool’s interest in Mbappe has been more serious and long-standing, Liverpool is also going through a transitional period, so neither club seems like the obvious choice for Mbappe right now; only Real Madrid truly fits the bill in that regard.

Though Jude Bellingham is already at Real Madrid, it’s worth considering that Erling Haaland may choose to go there as his next destination. It’s unlikely that all three of these players will be on the same squad in the future, as these players will undoubtedly be the top candidates for the Ballon d’Or in the next years. Therefore, the question is where Mbappe believes he can leave the greatest legacy.

Although I wouldn’t entirely rule out Arsenal or Liverpool, I believe those teams would trail Real Madrid in importance. Additionally, it’s not as though he has decided he’s done with PSG at this point.

In the following several weeks and months, a lot might happen, but I believe that Real Madrid’s strategy in this transaction will be the most important development. We’ll have to wait and see how they launch their next charm offensive to see whether Mbappe becomes more interested in joining Arsenal or Liverpool.