Van der Sar in hospital, new Saliba deal, Rice and Timber to Arsenal, Hojlund to United

Liverpool and Arsenal fans have been told not to get their hopes up after reports linking both clubs with Kylian Mbappe.

Reports out of Spain yesterday claimed Liverpool have already put a €200million offer on the table after Paris Saint-Germain opened the door for offers for the World Cup winning superstar.

Today, it has been claimed Mbappe is a big fan of Mikel Arteta and the only club in the Premier League he would consider joining in Arsenal.

But talkSPORT spoke to French football expert Julien Laurens about the situation and he said ‘there’s only one club he wants to join’ – Real Madrid.

“For me, the only option right now for PSG, I mean Kylian is in a win-win situation,” he said on White and Jordan.

“He stays, he doesn’t extend, he’s a free agent in a year’s time and he can choose, he will have every club at his feet.

“If they really want to sell him and almost force a move, force him to go, Real Madrid right now are the only club he wants to join, they’re the only club who can really afford him.

“English clubs can try and Man City can probably put the money on the table but Real Madrid has always been his dream as we’ve said many, many times on the show and I think this is the only club that he would be okay to go to anyway.

“So for PSG the only thing they can do to save this situation is to say to him, ‘Listen, we want to keep you another year but you can’t live on a free in a year time. So you want to stay another year. Why don’t we agree the transfer now, you sign that extension so you’re not off contract in June 2024 but in June 2025 but we agree to let you go to Real Madrid in a year’s time. So June 2024 you’re not with us anymore, you’re with Real Madrid, we’ve kept you a year. Real Madrid have signed you now for example in the next two weeks, we’ve all agreed a reasonable fee and then everybody’s a winner.

“‘Real Madrid, okay they’ll have to wait another year but they have you and you’ll be 25 and you’re still young enough, you will go there, you will have another last season at PSG, one more time trying to get the Champions League for example and we don’t lose you for free’.

“But even that, even saying it to you guys, it feels unrealistic. So I think they’re in a very difficult position.”