Profile: Monaco’s £130m man Kylian Mbappe

Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe only enhanced his burgeoning reputation last night as he scored twice to help down Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

The starlet is only 18 and his impressive showing in the Champions League will only have added to his growing value.

His club are already believed to value the player in excess of the world-record £89million fee that Man Utd paid for Paul Pogba with the Daily Star last month claiming the Ligue 1 club will be looking for a fee of £130million.

Mbappe is already a France international and signed a contract last year to keep him in the Principality until 2019, but that will not put off Europe’s big guns, who are expected to go after the Bondy-born forward this summer.

 

INTERESTED CLUBS

Manchester United reportedly made an £80million approach as they aimed to get ahead in their pursuit of the player, but that did not impress Monaco, who know that Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also tracking him.

Monaco are planning to cash in on several of their stars this summer, but Mbappe is not believed to be an asset they are prepared to sell just yet.

The club’s other significant advantage in the fight to keep Mbappe, whose father doubles up as his agent, is that he apparently is in no rush to leave.

 

2016/17 RECORD (via Transfermarkt)

 

PA analyse his performance in Dortmund…

GOAL THREAT

Mbappe clearly knows where the back of the net is and he proved it with a two-goal salvo.

He opened the scoring with his 20th of the season, though whether he knew too much about it is up for debate as he converted in the 19th minute off his thigh while also in an offside position.

There was no disputing the quality of his decisive second as he raced through on goal and finished with aplomb into the top corner to restore Monaco’s two-goal lead.

 

ATTACKING OUTLET

Alongside his clear goal threat, the 18-year-old’s electric pace caused Dortmund untold problems throughout the night.

His speed gave Monaco an outlet, playing balls down the channel, and that led to the awarding of a 19th-minute penalty when Mbappe was felled.

Such pace is always dangerous on the break, and with Monaco defending for most of the second half, that proved vitally important in leading to his second goal.

 

OVERALL

Scoring a match-deciding brace and winning a penalty has only enhanced Mbappe’s reputation as one to watch and further strengthened comparisons to Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka.

His two goals could not have been more contrasting in quality but the first one highlighted his knack of being in the right place at the right time and the second showcased his threat on the break and sublime finishing skills.

This performance will have had Europe’s top clubs licking their lips.