French football expert reveals why Manchester City were in contact with Kylian Mbappe’s representatives

Jonathan Johnson – an expert on the French game – has revealed precisely why Kylian Mbappe’s entourage made contact with Manchester City in recent weeks.

The Premier League champions were first linked with discussions around Mbappe just days after the French international announced his intention to leave Paris on a free transfer at the end of the ongoing season.

Despite the widespread expectation being that Real Madrid will ultimately secure the player’s signature on a long-term deal in time, Manchester City’s connection certainly got people talking, with manager Pep Guardiola endorsing the forward’s qualities publicly.

However, fresh details surrounding reports of discussions between Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe’s entourage have been discussed by experts within the French game, who have offered strong reasoning as to why such talks may have taken place.

Speaking to CaughtOffside, Jonathan Johnson has explained that Kylian Mbappe’s entourage may have utilised Manchester City as a way of extrapolating the best possible offer out of Real Madrid in the coming weeks and months ahead.

“My understanding is that they (Kylian Mbappe’s entourage) are a group of very switched-on individuals who know the kind of leverage they have with a player of Mbappe’s calibre,” Johnson explained.

“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.”

All in all, it remains highly unlikely that Manchester City will sign Kylian Mbappe this summer, instead placing their attentions on other problem areas of Pep Guardiola’s squad in what is expected to be a busy market for the English champions.

City officials are likely to strengthen in midfield first and foremost, with ongoing concerns over the futures of Bernardo Silva and Kalvin Phillips, while the wide forward positions could continue to be of interest despite the signing of Jeremy Doku last summer.