Kylian Mbappe proving PSG's sporting director after all

Stuart Telford

• 31 Aug 2023 18:39 BST
• 3 min read

The ice has thawed between Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain of late, and their recent transfer activity suggests he is having the say behind the scenes that he craved when he extended his contract last May.

It has been a tumultuous summer for PSG with regards to Mbappe.

The star striker told the club he had no intention of signing an extension on a contract which expires next year, and he was left at home for the pre-season tour of Asia with his current employers convinced he had an agreement in place with Real Madrid.

READ: PSG better without Messi and Neymar, claims former opponent

But he has been restored to the first team in recent weeks, and already has three goals from just 130 minutes of Ligue 1 football.

Neymar, Mbappe's primary antagonist for much their six-year collaboration in Paris, has been sold to Al-Hilal for €90 million, and the Frenchman's friend and international teammate Ousmane Dembele has been signed to replace him, PSG paying Barcelona €50m for his services.

And now another player who ticks that box - and, crucially, another - is on the cusp of sealing a move to the Parc des Princes in Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Randal Kolo Muani.

READ: PSG reach 'TOTAL AGREEMENT' for €100m Man Utd target

RKM for €80m

"Randal Kolo Muani: the new offer can be considered to be worth €80m now," Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg tweeted. "PSG are offering €70m guaranteed with €10m in add-ons [that] are easier to achieve now.

"PSG also want to reduce their asking price for [Hugo] Ekitike to around €25m plus add-ons now. Frankfurt boss [Markus] Krosche hasn't agreed yet. The final decision is expected today."

If PSG pull off Kolo Muani's signing, Mbappe will be surrounded by friends in the French capital, and, perhaps most importantly, freed up to play in his favoured position, on the left of a front three if not off a central striker.

Mbappe lashed out at having to lead the line last season with Neymar and Lionel Messi - now of Inter Miami - occupying the deeper and wider roles he wanted to.

Now with Kolo Muani to lead the line, Mbappe will likely play on the left, with Dembele on the opposite flank. Whether it is enough to keep him out of Madrid's clutches in the long term remains to be seen, but it is a step in the right direction.