|
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev says they are confident of warding off interest from a host of other clubs to sign their latest prodigy Kylian Mbappe to his first professional contract. Mbappe beat Thierry Henry's 1995 record to become Monaco's youngest ever goal scorer when he netted in last weekend's 3-1 win over Troyes aged 17 years, two months and one day. The academy graduate took just five substitute appearances to get his first goal in Ligue 1 but he is taking his time to weigh up a contract offer from the club. "There isn't a better project in Europe for young players than Monaco," Vasilyev told RMC. "Kylian Mbappe is part of that project. He's come from our training centre and we want to promote our players. "We've made a proposal. The ball is in his camp. It's up to him and his parents to make a decision." Vasilyev said he is aware that clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are thought to be taking an interest in the teenager. "I don't doubt that but will he get playing time with these big clubs?" Vasilyev asked. "I'm not sure about that. I don't want to get into the details of the negotiations but we're going to provide the means to keep him." Following Saturday's win, Monaco captain Jeremy Toulalan also suggested that Mbappe should not get too far ahead of himself. "What he's showing for his age is interesting," Toulalan said. "But the path is long. I've seen others before who didn't come through. He has to be attentive and make the right choices." Meanwhile, Vasilyev said Radamel Falcao could return to Monaco once his loan spell with Chelsea comes to an end in June. "We thought about bringing him back in January but he was injured," Vasilyev told RMC. "We'll take stock at the end of the season. We can't rule out that he might come back."
|
