♦ Kylian Mbappe is edging closer and closer to a move to Real Madrid this summer
♦ The Spanish giants have recently been given the ‘green light to sign him’
Kylian Mbappe has reportedly agreed to ‘play as a centre-forward’ for Real Madrid, should his move to the LaLiga giants materialise later this summer.
The 25-year-old looks set to depart Paris Saint-Germain in the summer after a six-year spell at the Ligue 1 outfit, and is edging ever closer to a move to Real Madrid, ending what will be a long-standing transfer saga with the Spanish outfit.
There are some concerns though over how Carlo Ancelotti will structure his team, should Mbappe join, with it perhaps impossible to drop their star left-winger Vinicius Jnr, while Rodrygo, on the opposing wing, has been in excellent form for Madrid this season.
Notably, Madrid currently don’t have a permanent centre forward on their books, with Joselu, who is on loan from Espanyol, being their sole option up top.
But according to AS, Mbappe, whose favoured position is on the left wing, will ‘accept the challenge of playing as Real Madrid’s No 9’.
Kylian Mbappe will reportedly play as a No 9 for Real Madrid, should he join in the summer
The news will alleviate Carlo Ancelotti’s potential selection dilemmas in his forward line
AS report that Mbappe is motivated to play as a centre-forward, saying he will ‘agree to be their No 9’
The Spanish outlet claims that sources close to the France winger believe he is ‘motivated by the possibility of scoring more goals by playing up front’.
It means he could be set to follow in the footsteps of some legendary centre-forwards to have played at the club, including the likes of Karim Benzema, who only recently left to play for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, and Ronaldo Nazario – a two-time World Cup winner.
In that position, Mbappe would easily be able to capitalise on the string of creative midfielders behind him, with Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz each able to feed him passes into the box. The position change may also help him win the Golden Boot award too.
Mail Sport reported in February that Real Madrid had been given the green light to sign the 25-year-old, with PSG set to lose out on earning back any of the £166million they paid for him in 2018.
Concerns that the Spanish club were unwilling to smash their wage structure to match his annual £21.4m salary have now disappated, largely due to there being no transfer fee for the free agent.
It is understood that Madrid are willing to pay him more than the £10.3m they pay top earners, Bellingham and Vinicius.
AS also claim that Mbappe had asked Real Madrid to keep negotiations over his move to the Spanish capital ‘confidential’, to ‘prevent PSG ultras from making his life impossible’. The outlet says his deal could ‘be made official on July 1’.
Real Madrid have been looking to sign the French superstar for nearly seven years, with Marca’s deputy editor Carlos Carpio claiming that the club had tabled an offer of £154m to Monaco in 2017.
Ancelotti already has two world-class wingers in Vinicius Jnr (left) and Rodrygo (right)
There is a chance that Mbappe could play against Real Madrid in the Champions League final
In recent years, Mbappe has been at Loggerheads with PSG over signing a new deal with the Parisian club.
PSG bosses had notably exiled the Frenchman to their B team last year and excluded him from their pre-season tour of Japan in 2023 after he refused to sign a new contract.
The club also accused the winger of ‘inflicting a lasting paralysis on the team’, adding that he sould have treated the club better after their ‘years of unprecedented good will and committment to him’.
Ironically, there is a chance that Mbappe could face off agaisnt PSG in the final of the Champions League later this season, if both teams advance to the showpiece event. He had previously stated that he wanted to leave to win the coveted trophy.