Manchester United have had a £72m bid for Kylian Mbappe turned down, with Monaco wanting a world-record £100m for the 18-year- old forward.
José Mourinho has made Mbappé one of his main targets for the summer but the Ligue 1 club want to keep the teenage striker for at least another season.
United, who are also interested in Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, have struggled in front of goal this season, although Zlatan Ibrahimovic is their top scorer with 28 goals in all competitions. The Swede, who sustained a long‑term knee injury last month, has scored 17 times in the league, with Juan Mata the second highest scorer with six.
Monaco have told United they will not sell Mbappé for less than £100m and it is highly unlikely he will leave this summer. Monaco hope his value will soar and they will be able to sell him for around £125m in 2018. The player’s preferred destination would be Real Madrid but they have yet to make an inquiry for the player who has impressed in Europe this season.
United and Mourinho are also working on other deals and have made an inquiry with Roma about Radja Nainggolan but the midfielder, who turned down Chelsea last summer, is keen to stay. Mourinho’s shortlist of signings also includes the Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos and Mbappé’s Monaco team-mates Fabinho and Tiemoué Bakayoko, although Chelsea are in pole position to sign the latter.
United are in danger of missing out on a top-four place in the league but are in the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they face Celta Vigo away in the first leg on Thursday. The winners of the competition qualify for the Champions League, with United well aware they may struggle to attract some of the names on their list should they not be in Europe’s premier club competition.
Mourinho could soon be one step closer, however, and has urged his players to help make club history by winning the Europa League. He emphasised his desire by saying he may rest players against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
The focus at the Estadio de Balaídos will be to win a competition that has so far eluded the club. If they do so United would become only the fourth club to win all four European trophies – the Uefa Cup/Europa League, the European Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and the Super Cup – as well as the Club World Cup, joining Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich in having done so.
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