All eyes on Mbappe and an influential decision

French star is holding nerve

Al Hilal’s move for Kylian Mbappe has dominated talk within the game just as it has outside. And there are almost greater stakes there. So many players are looking to what next as, again, they see this is a genuine game-changer. A lot of players who have had Saudi Pro League offers are still reticent, precisely because of the legacy of European football and the ambition of winning trophies that mean something, but even a proportion of those would reconsider if the French star went. That’s his sort of influence. It should be noted the Saudi offer hasn’t been rejected out of hand yet, which means anything is in play, but the general thinking right now is that Mbappe will not go. It’s going to take quite the calculation. Paris Saint-Germain have always been a club in thrall to their stars but that is not something you could say of new appointment Luis Enrique as a manager. If anyone has the personality to leave Mbappe on the bench for a season, it’s him. This is the risk, and this may play on his mind.

A new target for City, and a new key area for Guardiola

Having let Riyad Mahrez go, Manchester City are now looking for a wide attacking player. They obviously have a lot of targets given the farsighted way the club works, but it speaks to how disruptive Saudi Pro League many has been that the European Champions are forced into action this late. They usually have most of their business done by now. There also remains some way to go in their planned purchase of RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol. That does perhaps speak to how Erling Haaland has changed the dynamic of the team. It is clear that Pep Guardiola sees rotation at the back as the platform for everything going forward, allowing them to stretch the pitch with the Norwegian and Kevin De Bruyne raging forward. Different styles of centre-halves give more depth, then. Centre-halves being the most common position in a Guardiola is something that wouldn’t have been expected for most of his career, though.

Talks proceed for Danish midfielder

Atletico Madrid are still in negotiation with Tottenham Hotspur over Piere-Emile Hojbjerg, but there needs to be a “compromise” on price. Ange Postecoglou would find a use for the Dane but ultimately wants a midfield with much more mobility and an ability to circulate the ball at speed.

More focus on the forwards

Much of the focus has been on Rasmus Hojlund but Manchester United do retain interest in Randal Kolo Muani. There are still lines open there, as the French forward is just another number-nine waiting to see where he goes this summer. United did have a look at Folarin Balogun but that is not seen as a realistic move. Far likelier is the US forward moving to Milan, with both of their giants interested.

Chelsea look to more changes and to charge the midfield

Name a young defensive midfielder right now - be it Romeo Lavia or Muhammad Kudus - and Chelsea will be linked, often mentioned after the other side making a move for him. This is not just a case of representatives, say, using the London club to drum up interest. They are pursuing at least one midfielder of this profile, but would buy two. It goes hand in hand with ongoing recruitment changes at the club, as the departing Christopher Vivell basically just found his influence eroded. While that has added to a perception of chaos, there is a sense that they are beginning to figure out what they want - especially as regards players. One message, mind, has been for the recruitment to really go out there and find Brighton-level unknown gems.

Top stories

Miguel's Dispatches

There’s suddenly a new tension about the Women’s World Cup as both New Zealand and Australia face the threat of elimination after the group stage. This is one area where there can be an element of personal bias for journalists, as it is always better for a tournament to have the hosts in it as long as possible. Something about the atmosphere so conspicuously changes when they go out, there’s less of a charge, less of a party. It may be particularly striking for those of us who land for the last 16 - although that could yet mean our first game is Australia-England…”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Jordan Henderson finally gets his move to Saudi Arabia. Fair play to him, he can play wherever he wants to play. Curious to know though how the new brand JH will look like. The old one is dead! I did believe for a while that his support for the  community would be genuine. Silly me…"

Thomas Hitzlsperger on his twitter account

In the period since 1992, and the foundation of the Champions League, six players have won the Ballon D’Or but never won the Champions League. Name the six.

(You can find out the answers here. The answer page will be updated weekly and contains answers from previous newsletters, too)

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