Kylian Mbappe

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We don't necessarily need Mbappe but if the option is there then you don't pass it up. He's better than Sterling and arguably better than Sane as well.
 
The only players in today's game that has more tenacity in front of the goal than him are Messi, Suarez, and Lewandowski.
 
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WallyA said:
Don't quite get it myself either. We will have a fit Jesus back, add in Roberts and Unal from loan added to our already strong attack, why are people asking for more forwards? This isn't fifa where we can just horde all these young players, we have enough attack power for next season, just need defensive reinforcements and we are golden.
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All of our fullbacks are out of contract this summer (bar Kolarov). So that means we HAVE to buy fullbacks. Txiki and Pep knows that. But if they decide we can spend 100M on Mbappe, maybe it's because City has the money to get Mbappe and everything else (fullbacks, CMs, GK, etc).

My advice is to not get so caught up with the money. We're not under FFP anymore so it shouldn't be our concern. Last summer we didn't get any fullbacks not because we didn't have the money for it, but because we have players under contracts and we couldn't ship them out.
 
Mbappe is the most courted under 21 player in world football today. If we have the option to buy him then let's do it. Putting the ball in the back of the net is the most difficult skill in the game and this lad has the gift.
 
It seems the Mbappe hype has now reached new levels where anyone who dares question his absurd price tag or even the interest in getting him when jesus and aguero are already in the team gets instantly countered with his stats and numbers and how he's now already a better player than sane and sterling. So with all that said I tried to look into him and to put some context on him so I did a bit of personal scouting(through mainly player-performance videos and transfermarket) to try and give a different but as fair and balanced analysis as I can give.

Firstly he's clearly a talented young player. He's blessed with an incredible turn of pace, intelligent movement and a composure and finishing in front of goal that belies his years. You don't see many dangerous and deadly players within the penalty area like him at any age let alone one just 18. He also possesses good awareness for his age and is decent in the other technical aspects of his game (passing, dribbling, close control etc) though doesn't particular stand out in any one of those. Players like Martial and Sane for example are much superior in those aspects than him and he tends to be someone who mostly needs space behind the defender to knock the ball past to beat them rather than one who can do so in tight spaces or when crowded. He has the physical but more importantly tactical attributes needed to make it at the very top and barring a huge turn of form or a bad injury, should make it as a top class striker one day.

With all that said, he is still also an 18 year old in his first, breakthrough season. Not only does he come with an unknown quantity to teams this season as a result of that, but he also plays with less pressure and expectancy on him. We've seen so many young players who've had great breakthrough seasons as a result of these conditions and not gone on to match or even better it as they get older. He's posted ridiculous numbers this season when compared to the minutes played but its also important to look at those in context. For one, he plays in the most attacking team in all of europe's top leagues and one which the system is perfectly catered to get the best out of and capitalise on his attributes. Two, he only has two goals and two assists from all games against teams in the top 8 of Ligue 1 in all competitions. In fact 15 of his 21 goals have all come against teams 9th or lower in the french division, another 2 against bordeaux and marseille who occupy 5th and 6th respectively and the other 4 goals all coming in the champions league knockout games which seems to be the ones mostly clouding people's judgement with some even declaring him some 'once in a generation player' a term reserved for players the likes of messi, C.ronaldo, zidane, maradona, pirlo, ronaldo(brazil) etc.

Before I make this additional point I would like to say that I thought he played well in all the 3 knockout games so far and looked a threat throughout but with that it has to also be taken into account the first leg of the game which was one of the most open champions league ties you'll ever see with some of the worst defending as well from both teams. I even thought Falcao was the much better player and could/should've had a hat-trick which tells you how crazy that game was(5-3). The second leg first half was basically a non-entity as far as city were concerned therefore him and his team were able to fully capitalise on that. Once the team and defence stepped up and decided to play in the second half, he was pretty much nullified for much of it. Lastly, for the dortmund game, it came after a tragic event involving the dortmund players occurred which I'm certain played on their minds but even then I thought he was a peripheral figure for most of that game irrespective of his goals. Outside of the knockout games, he barely featured for monaco in their group games therefore when people go on about his champions league performances, they are pretty much talking about three games in which conditions seemed to have perfectly suited and benefited his team.

So yes he's having an incredible first season especially with numbers which are still impressive that you wont find many 18 year olds will ever have and his talent is undeniable, but a lot of context has to also be taken into account when some try to justify paying world record fees for his purchase or claim him to be some 'once in a generation talent' never seen before. I've made this point earlier in another thread that Mario Gotze at 20 years had already played a key part in dortmund winning back-to-back titles as well as reaching the champion league final and he looked a far more impressive young talent than Mbappe currently does. Likewise Martial last season was almost a one-man show for an ineffective United attack and basically carried them to an Fa cup win in the process finishing the season with 18 goals and 11 assists. Even sterling whom at the time of his purchase many will have you believe was overpriced at 44m(and still dont rate) was a far more proven and recognised talent who'd had one incredible breakthrough season and another good one where he had to carry a team without suarez and sturridge on his own. He'd also won the golden boy award and played in a world cup where he was probably england's best player in the first game against Italy and done all this at just 19 years. These types of instances are not that rare where a talented young player breaks through and looks to be special.

For those here of which there seem to be a few of who've forgotten just how talented sterling then 19 was for liverpool that season where he was more of a playmaker, maybe the video below of his games against some of the top sides might help you recognise his talent. He's had to adapt his game since joining to become a more out-and-out wing player but he clearly has the technical ability and tactical intelligence to make it at the very top(his finishing was still poor then though)



As for Mbappe, next season will be the real test of his ability and mentality as teams/managers study his game and try to find ways to nullify him as the element of the surprise and unknown wont be there and defenders will use every rule in the book to go against him like Martial is finding out this season as well as countless other young players have(i.e depay), that's when his true ability will show.
 
The Riot Club said:
Gundogan would have to work his bollocks off and tackle anything that moved covering midfield for that side. Imagine going somewhere like Everton or Spurs and trying not to concede.

We may win the odd game 7-1 but I think there'd be a lot of 3-6 defeats too.

Need a solid back 4. Two blisteringly quick, tough tackling full backs and a midfielder like a young version of Yaya next season, whatever else we buy.
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This formation played brilliantly against Everton in October. We missed two penalties. Otherwise it could have been our best performance of the season.
 
Yates said:
We don't necessarily need Mbappe but if the option is there then you don't pass it up. He's better than Sterling and arguably better than Sane as well.
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This is the thing. We don't NEED him, but he would obviously be a welcome addition and keep him away from our rivals. Mbappe and Jesus should be two of the next great attackers in European football, if we could have both, they could become a strikeforce unlike anything we've seen
 
mavsmcfc said:
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All of our fullbacks are out of contract this summer (bar Kolarov). So that means we HAVE to buy fullbacks. Txiki and Pep knows that. But if they decide we can spend 100M on Mbappe, maybe it's because City has the money to get Mbappe and everything else (fullbacks, CMs, GK, etc).

My advice is to not get so caught up with the money. We're not under FFP anymore so it shouldn't be our concern. Last summer we didn't get any fullbacks not because we didn't have the money for it, but because we have players under contracts and we couldn't ship them out.
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Do you mean we have no current restrictions or do you think FFP has been scrapped completely(it hasn't as far as I know)?
 
Metalartin said:
Do you mean we have no current restrictions or do you think FFP has been scrapped completely(it hasn't as far as I know)?
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UEFA have slightly changed FFP they haven't removed it....Our turnover (400m) helps us spend big
 
Metalartin said:
That doesn't mean we have 400m to spend(still surprised it's that high), the important figure is loss/profit.
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Not saying we can spend 400m....If turnover was 300m we would have less to spend on wages & transfer fees...If turnover was 500m we would have more to spend on wages & transfer fees...The reason Spurs want a bigger stadium is to increase turnover
 
mavsmcfc said:
FFP is still there but it doesn't apply to us anymore since we're profitable now as a business.
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FFP does apply to us if we overspend what we spend on wages & transfer fees is limited by our turnover...The sanctions that we were under for breaking FFP have gone but the main FFP rules are still in place for all clubs not just City
 
flobo said:
Not saying we can spend 400m....If turnover was 300m we would have less to spend on wages & transfer fees...If turnover was 500m we would have more to spend on wages & transfer fees...The reason Spurs want a bigger stadium is to increase turnover
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Our profit was in the region of 40m last year I believe - if this is used to support transfer it effectively becomes amortised as 160 m kitty (if on 4 years of contracts) or 200m (if all on 5 yr contracts) We should also clear 50m plus after paying off residues on Mangala and Bony (a lot more if Sergio goes). The biggie though is 12 plus players off our wages with 6/7 coming in. Many of those leaving are on mega wages. No one knows the figures but we could potentially release 30-40 million additial money which if amortised gives us up to another 150 million to spend on transfers. This is before we factor in any additional increases in our profits currently. Those worrying about transfer fees and wages shouldn't. We have massive financial potential being released this year. All my figures are rough estimates (as are anyone's) but we should be able to cover 300m transfer fees at least - if needed- and 400m would not be impossible. As some others have said, this is our big year. Many contracts ending, players moving on, Pep establishing his vision. This is what the club has been aligning itself for over the last few years. Bring it on!
 
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