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Since my last column, Kylian Mbappe has confirmed to Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he plans to leave PSG at the end of his contract this summer. While that communication has now been made, there is still no official communication that Mbappe has reached a transfer agreement with Real Madrid. There’s still nothing signed, despite some reports stating that it’s a done deal, to all intents and purposes.
We don’t have anything official from PSG or Real Madrid yet either, but what we do know is that PSG probably won’t announce Mbappe’s departure until he’s communicated that he’s signed a contract with Real Madrid. Another key detail in terms of the timing of all this could be when it becomes clear whether or not the two clubs can meet in the Champions League this season.
So, in theory that means it might be a while yet before we get an announcement on that, but should one or the other drop out of the competition then that could pave the way for there to be some official communication sooner rather than later.
From what I’m told, one reason the deal is still to be signed on the dotted line is related to his Olympic participation, and other various moveable parts. It’s also been reported that Mbappe’s entourage have sounded out the likes of Manchester City, and my understanding is that they are a group of very switched-on individuals who know the kind of leverage they have with a player of Mbappe’s calibre. So sounding out some of the biggest clubs like Man City in order to extrapolate the best offer they can out of Real Madrid is a no-brainer. This allows them to go to the table armed with the knowledge of what other clubs would be willing to pay for him, but it doesn’t mean that the intention was to seriously consider a move to anywhere other than Real Madrid, but it was just to get the best contract possible.
We’re now in the latter stages of those talks, so even if there’s no official word, it’s very close, and it may just be that we need that guarantee that PSG and Real Madrid won’t play each other in the Champions League before we hear something final.
As well as the Mbappe transfer saga, one big story dominating headlines at the moment is the managerial merry-go-round we could see this summer due to the vacancies we’re going to see at Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern. A host of names have been linked with those jobs, and Zinedine Zidane is one that’s come up with the Bayern vacancy.
Zidane has been out of the game for a while and although I think we will see him return soon, I don’t think we’ll see him take up a job before this summer’s European Championships because his priority is to one day become manager of the French national team. Should France under-perform in Germany this summer than perhaps there could be a case for Didier Deschamps leaving his post, but should they do well, and they are one of the favourites for the tournament, then we could perhaps see Zidane hold talks with other clubs.
Specifically with the Bayern job, though, despite the club being somewhere where a number of French players have enjoyed a lot of success down the years, it’s quite a specific environment and one that tends to favour former players, especially at the moment when they’re going through quite a turbulent run.
I could see Zidane putting out feelers for potential jobs available, and somewhere like Juventus, where he spent some time as a player, might appeal to him. Another one to keep an eye on would be Marseille – if there was to be a takeover at OM, they’re a club Zidane has an affinity with, even though ne never played for them. I think that could be an interesting project for him, especially with Mbappe leaving PSG, their Ligue 1 rivals might sense that there’s a real opportunity to challenge for honours.
So I’m not too sure about the Bayern links, but Juventus and Marseille, should Zidane be on the club market, would be teams to keep tabs on, but it doesn’t change the fact that his priority at some point in his career is to lead the French national team.
There had been some uncertainty recently about Mathys Tel’s situation at Bayern Munich, with some talk of Manchester United keeping an eye on him, but that now seems to have more or less been resolved after a positive meeting between the player and his agent and Bayern.
It’s important to say that Tel has been very happy with his overall experience at Bayern. You could argue that he probably would’ve played more if he’d stayed at Rennes, but I think he views this as having been good for his development, and he’s not done too badly at all in terms of minutes. It’s a massive step up from Rennes to Bayern, no disrespect to the French side, so it’s been a positive experience for him to show what he can do at the very top level.
It’s also worth remembering that it’s not been the easiest season at Bayern overall, with doubts over Thomas Tuchel’s future and a decision now in place for him to leave at the end of the season, as he’d been under pressure almost from the beginning. His exit could now open the door for more opportunities for Tel under whoever replaces him, whether that’s Xabi Alonso or someone else. A way for them to give Tel more minutes also probably would have been in the DFB Pokal (German Cup) but they went out of the competition unexpectedly early, so that has limited his opportunities, while Harry Kane has been in fantastic goal-scoring form, so it’s meant less clear opportunities for Tuchel to rotate.
My understanding is Tel is now happy with the clarity of the situation. It now looks like he’s going to be considered an important part of the setup going forward, and who knows, should there be an injury crisis at any stage this season, then Bayern could give him greater minutes if there’s a need to do that.
I think Tel will be a transfer target for Premier League clubs and others while he remains on the fringes, but I would also expect him to be someone who grows in influence at Bayern in the coming years.
As recently reported by Ben Jacobs, PSG like Levi Colwill of Chelsea and may be prepared to play the long game to get him. The former Brighton defender is a player PSG have ear-marked as a potential transfer target in defence, but he’s probably more of an alternative at the moment to the one they have made their priority, and that’s Leny Yoro.
The young Lille centre-back is the outstanding candidate for PSG – he is the player PSG absolutely want to be able to bring in this summer’s transfer window. He’s also keen to join PSG and further his career with them. He also has the added bonus of being French and from the Paris region, so it’s a good fit for where the PSG project is going.
Colwill is someone PSG will look to and explore in case they can’t sign Yoro, but I think the idea that they might wait a bit longer is accurate, because he could probably still do with more time to develop at Chelsea. He is a player that PSG are looking at with a view to the long term, and that makes sense given some issues in defence at the moment.
There are question marks over Marquinhos with relation to form and fitness, while it’s not clear what kind of condition Presnel Kimpembe will be in once he returns from injury. Milan Skriniar was also a good opportunity on the market last summer, but is not getting any younger, so while I’m not sure about movement for Colwill this summer, I would expect them to go all out for Yoro as he is their main target, and then they’ll maybe explore Colwill and other potential opportunities in the future as well, though let’s also not forget as well that they signed Lucas Beraldo in January so he’s one for the future there as well.