Reports: AS Monaco quote their price for Kylian Mbappe

What's the story?

Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed a fair bit of the spotlight, as well as the relentless attention, he has received over the last few months. The 18-year-old striker helped Monaco snatch last season's Ligue 1 title from right under the noses of second-placed Paris Saint-Germain.

Unfortunately for Monaco, their title win has effectively put a target on the backs of most of their young talents, with Mbappe being the flag-bearer. The Frenchman boasts of inquiries from the best clubs across Europe. According to Marca, Monaco are attempting to deter suitors with a ludicrous price tag of 190 million euros (£170.11 million).

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The ongoing transfer window has already proven to be a draining experience for the Monaco management, having already lost important first team players like Bernardo Silva to Manchester City, Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea and Valerie Germain to Marseille. They are also likely to lose more players before the window is wrapped up, with Fabinho, Benjamin Mendy and Thomas Lemar finding themselves closely linked to top clubs.

The sale of Mbappe will certainly deal a major blow to the club's title defence.

The heart of the matter

The Monaco hierarchy and manager Leonardo Jardim will naturally want to retain as much of the title winning squad as possible. So far, they haven't had much luck, with players seemingly slipping away one after the other.

Further, it is common knowledge that Mbappe has garnered interest from local clubs and foreign ones alike. With deep-pocketed clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona knocking on the door, the 190 million valuation might be their last resort at keeping the young Frenchman, who scored 26 goals from 44 appearances across all competitions in the 2016-17 season for the Ligue 1 winners.

Real Madrid have emerged as the front-runners for the starlet's signature, now bolstered by the funds obtained through the sale of out-of-favour striker Alvaro Morata, right back Danilo and the loaning of Colombian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez.

Real Madrid's manager, Zinedine Zidane has admitted that he is fond of Mbappe and would like to snap him up before this window comes to an end.

Monaco will certainly hope that the exorbitant price tag would prompt other clubs to end their pursuit of their #1 striker. However, they will be aware of the possibility of a scenario wherein another club might actually decide to match the asking price. In which case, they will be left with no choice but to let go of their star, should he choose to leave.

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Author's take

Mbappe is undoubtedly one of the brightest prospects in the footballing world. However, a price tag of such extremity, for whatever intentions, could add tremendous pressure on the player, which to some extent, could cripple him and hinder his playing style.

Further, a move to Real Madrid would inevitably reduce his play time due to manager Zidane's rotation policy.

At this point in his career, the Frenchman should be concerned about playing as much as possible and as freely as he can, without being pressured by the billing of what will become a world record transfer. Hence, a move to the Los Blancos, or any other club, for such a price could prove to be detrimental to what looks to be a promising career.