Monaco are still a force to reckon with and here's why

Monaco will have lost Kylian Mbappe, Benjamin Mendy, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva by the end of this transfer window, but they still refuse to let it get to them. With four wins out of four in the league, they are looking as good as they did last season, and they have manager Leonardo Jardim to thank for. The Monaco boss was rumoured to be on his way out of the club, which wouldn’t have been surprising considering how many world class players have been able to leave. However, he signed a new deal until 2020 and remained faithful to the Ligue 1 champions.

The blame for the sale of the players listed should not be shouldered by Monaco’s board, as the fees that they accepted were astronomical ones from Europe’s elite clubs, offers they could not turn down. The most important thing was to replace and reinvest the money they received, which they have done, and commendably well. All whilst still having money to spare.

Mbappe (left) and Bakayoko (middle) are just two of the players who have left in this window

Youri Tielemans, Stevan Jovetic and Rachid Ghezzal have all joined the club, and are all likely to succeed under Jardim’s management. These players are obviously not as good as those that Monaco have sold, but to directly replace the outgoing talent was always going to be extremely difficult.

What Monaco must be praised for is their start to the season with a squad overhaul and the rumours surrounding Kylian Mbappe, arguably the best player they had left heading into the new season. He now looks to be heading to PSG in a loan move which will turn permanent next season. However, Monaco’s players have refused to let this get to them and have performed excellently in the first four games.

The first game, they came from behind twice to beat Toulouse in a 3-2 victory at the Stade Louis II. This was the most important victory of all four. Staring defeat in the face, the fans would have almost definitely blamed it on the sale of all of their extremely talented players, but they managed to turn it round. This gave them a massive confidence boost as a relatively new squad of players got their first victory. And it has led to them winning emphatically in two of their next three games, with a 4-1 away win at Dijon, and a 6-1 mauling of Marseille at home.

A huge reason as to why Monaco will continue to succeed this season is forward Radamel Falcao, who has re-found his monstrous goal scoring form which he lost during his time in England. Last season Falcao had 21 goals in 29 league appearances and 30 goals in all competitions. This season he already has seven goals in four starts! This suggests he will continue his goal scoring form and the loss of Mbappe will not be so devastating, especially with the arrival of Jovetic and the transfer fee they will eventually receive.

The €166 million they will receive next season for Mbappe will certainly be reinvested. The enormous fee for one player could help them improve a number of areas if necessary and give them a much more accomplished squad.

Falcao has made an unbelievable start to Monaco's Ligue 1 campaign

Monaco will undoubtedly still compete for the title. PSG may now have Neymar and Mbappe along with the world class players they already had, but Monaco are still the champions and know how to win. They are a very good side capable of beating anyone on their day, and they will certainly blow away most of Ligue 1 sides. If they can beat Marseille 6-1, it is unthinkable what they could do to some teams who are much worse in the league.

With Jardim’s incredible coaching and their attacking style of play, they will continue where they left off from last season and look to improve. They will continue to challenge not only in the league but in the Champions League as well. Jardim’s coaching and ability to galvanise team spirit makes the players he has at his disposal somewhat irrelevant because whatever team he puts out will give their 100% at all costs.

Monaco must not be forgotten as they are still one of the greatest teams in the world currently.