Manchester United have been told that any deal for Kylian Mbappe is likely to cost them the biggest transfer fee of all time, amid claims the club are considering a blockbuster move to bring in the PSG superstar.
The Red Devils are carefully considering their next transfer moves. Manager Erik ten Hag was allowed to lavish well over £200m during the summer window as six new players were brought in to kickstart their new era.
And three of those – Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez – have very quickly established themselves as regulars in the side.
With the opening of the January window looming, Ten Hag and Co are considering their next course of transfer action. And signing a new attacker is seemingly very much in their thinking with the club parting ways with Cristiano Ronaldo.
One man who had been strongly linked was Cody Gakpo, though that deal was quickly and emphatically poached by Liverpool. Ten Hag, however, was in no mood to comment after seeing the Red Devils miss out on the PSV star.
In the short-term and with funds tight, United are reportedly looking to make a loan signing to see them through for the rest of the season. To that end, they are reportedly considering an approach for a former Chelsea flop.
Come the summer, though, United are reportedly ready to spend big on a new striker. And they reportedly have a shortlist of three names, including Dusan Vlahovic and Goncalo Ramos, under consideration.
More ambitiously, United are also reportedly considering an approach for Mbappe.
The forward further cemented his reputation as one of the world’s elite stars with a hat-trick in the World Cup final.
Man Utd told cost needed to sign Kylian Mbappe
Any deal for Mbappe would obviously hit United hard in the pocket. The PSG frontman has been mentioned recently as a target for both Real Madrid and Liverpool.
And while Los Blancos could possibly find a way to finance such a deal, his apparent £600,000 a week wages alone are likely to scare off Liverpool.
Whether that sort of salary would be in United’s reach remains to be seen.
But one transfer journalist has at least outlined what sort of fee it would take to prise Mbappe from PSG. And, using Jude Bellingham as a measuring tool, he claims a world-record fee is likely.
That current record stands at the £198m (€222m) PSG paid for Neymar. But Dean Jones, speaking to Givemesport, reckons a fee upwards of £200m is likely.
“Someone who’s just scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final, it’s the look of a £200m footballer. There’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“You hear at the moment Jude Bellingham being talked about as perhaps a £130m footballer. Use that as a marker if you like for Mbappe, who is the ultimate game-changing forward. So it’ll be upwards of £200m from that standpoint.”
Discussing his side’s need for a new attacker, Ten Hag stated recently that the hunt was on for another option.
“We are aware we lost a striker, so I think we have to get a striker in, but it has to be the right one,” the United boss said. “The right one is a player that brings quality to the team, not just adding to the squad because that only gives you problems.”
