David Ornstein joined Hawksbee and Baker on talkSPORT this afternoon to offer the latest news on the Kylian Mbappe saga.
And the transfer guru insists there is no chance of the French superstar of moving to the Premier League this summer…
He told talkSPORT: “The atmosphere is not good around Mbappe at PSG right now, and it’s even more sharp than it was with Messi because he’s French, he was a PSG fan, a France international, he scored three goals in the World Cup final in December, and it’s soured terribly.
“I didn’t ever get the sense that Saudi was a move that appealed to him with his ambitions to seemingly play for Real Madrid and compete for the biggest honours in Europe and the Champions League, in particular with the Euros round the corner and Olympics next year as well.
“It was an offer of epic proportion, and I’m not sure why they went quite that high. Make of that what you will. The player only has a year to go and PSG would have accepted a much lower offer.
“There were some reports that his family were willing to negotiate with the Saudis but I don’t think, by the sounds of it, Mbappe has been.
“People have said, what about the Premier League? I don’t think the numbers would work for anybody in the Premier League with their financial fair play. Some people have suggested maybe Man City. But I’m not aware of them or anybody else really going for him.
“Of course, they all love him. He’s one of the best players in the world. But that doesn’t mean they’re actively pursuing him.
“Barcelona, I think, have looked into a bit of a player exchange. But again, to my eyes, not realistic.
“And that leaves Real Madrid at the table. Do they do the deal now, bring forward what they wanted, ideally, to do next summer as a free agent?
“Maybe Mbappe wants to do that [move as a free agent] because then he takes all the transfer fee pretty much as a signing on bonus.
“Or do they try and structure something that allows it to happen now, a year early Because otherwise, there is this prospect, if he’s not signing a new contract at PSG, that he sits on the bench for an entire season or not even in the matchday squad. I don’t think anyone wants this. It’s unedifying.
“I think they’ll be looking to surely find a solution as soon as possible.”
