Kylian Mbappé has received a transfer notice from Liverpool from a former Reds striker, who has made a bold prediction about PSG’s future in the Champions League.

Former Liverpool forward Djibril Cissé named the one player he would like to see join the Reds in a recent interview, and it’s one who has been linked to Liverpool in the past.

Cissé spoke to outlet betting sites on a variety of topics. The Frenchman, who played for Liverpool between 2004 and 2007, won the Champions League in his first season with the club. Cissé then left for Marseille and became something of a journeyman, playing for numerous clubs across Europe. When asked which player he would like to see in the red Liverpool shirt, Cissé was clear who he would choose.

“[Kylian] Mbappé has said himself that he wants to win titles and big trophies, but he means the Champions League. He won’t lie to anyone, he wants to take that trophy. Mbappé is a player who deserves to have big nights and Champions Leagues, but while the PSG will play in the league for many years to come, I don’t think the current team is strong enough to win” Cisse said.

“I would like to see Mbappé at Liverpool. I think Mbappé is made for English football. I know he loves Real Madrid and has been associated with them and I think he wants to leave. But seeing him at Anfield would do a lot of damage in the Premier League. Mbappé’s mum loves Liverpool: as a good boy you should listen to your mum!”

Mbappé had been linked with a move to Liverpool for years (via The Mirror) before signing a new contract to stay at Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

Liverpool.com says: Despite Cissé’s words, it sadly seems unlikely that Mbappé will ever play for Liverpool. His salary is simply unattainable for Liverpool unless the club is sold or he takes a significant pay cut. Still, it’s always nice to dream and I hope the former Anfield shot-stopper is right about which team will be the most competitive in the Champions League for years to come.

Also…

Liverpool News: Liverpool and FSG ‘position’ on Luis Diaz sale to help fund Mbappe, Bellingham and Mason Mount

Liverpool are set to undertake a major squad overhaul this summer.

Liverpool reportedly have no intention of selling Luis Diaz to fund a major summer transfer overhaul. The Reds have been linked with several signings in a bid to revitalize Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Jude Bellingham is believed to be Liverpool’s main target for the next transfer window. Mason Mount and more speculatively Kylian Mbappe have also been linked with a move to Anfield. Faced with Liverpool’s inability to match the vast finances of Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle, the Reds will have to sell players if they want to attract big talent. One of the players who doesn’t seem to be leaving the Premier League club is Colombian striker Diaz.

The 26-year-old would play a ‘huge role’ in Liverpool’s future plans. He will come right back into Klopp’s plans once he returns from a long-term knee injury.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz is said to survive the summer transfer overhaul (Image: Getty)

That’s according to The Athletic, who claim Diaz will not continue as part of Liverpool’s planned summer overhaul. The former Porto player had a remarkable first 12 months at Liverpool but endured a frustrating first full season.

Diaz limped off with a knee injury in Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in October. A setback during the World Cup break has since put him on hiatus.

But the winger is expected to return to training in the coming weeks. Diaz is reportedly targeting a return to competition when Liverpool travel to Man City on April 1. Meanwhile,

Liverpool remain hopeful of a top four finish in the Premier League by the end of the season. Despite a disappointing campaign, the Merseysiders are just seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and have two games in hand against the North Londoners.

Chelsea field Andreas Pereira to replace Mason Mount

Regardless of where he ends up in the league, Liverpool still expect to rejuvenate Klopp’s squad in the summer. An aging team that has grown stale over the past year could look very different in 2023/24.
Liverpool would like to review their midfield at the end of the season. Borussia Dortmund’s young star Bellingham is held in high regard at Anfield but reports suggest Liverpool’s hopes of signing the English talent are fading.

It is also hoped that Liverpool will sign Bellingham’s England team-mate Mount. The 24-year-old will have just 12 months left on his contract this summer and Chelsea could look to sell the playmaker rather than risk losing him for free in 2024. However, a move for Mbappe remains unlikely given the huge finances involved in a possible deal.

Also..

Despite the threat from Real Madrid, FSG’s next move may increase Jude Bellingham’s hopes.

Dave Powell assesses prospects after Real Madrid reportedly jump ahead of Liverpool in race for Jude Bellingham

This summer will likely see the completion of one of the most talked about transfers in recent years.
Jude Bellingham, long a Liverpool target and the player seen as central to a needed Anfield rebuild, is set to make a decision on where to play his football from 2023/24, with some number of options on the table.

Liverpool were the team most linked with the 19-year-old England international, who shone in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund for £25m after leaving Birmingham City for Germany in 2020.

But they weren’t the only ones interested in Bellingham, as Real Madrid are set to play for the central midfielder and Manchester City and Manchester United are considering their own options for a move. On Monday, Athletic reported that Liverpool were “looking increasingly unlikely” to land Bellingham in the summer. While the report noted that the club remained in contention, the suggestion that the Reds would fall behind in pursuit of the Dortmund ace stemmed from a lack of desire to engage in a bidding war which could escalate. step up and that current Bellingham Employers would like to see – and could trigger – provided they have their assets tied to a contract until 2025.

Estimates of between £120m and £150m have made the rounds when determining how much it would cost to land the midfielder, although numerous outlets have suggested in recent months that Bellingham favors Liverpool. But given the potentially huge price tag and the fact that the Reds have no guarantee he can offer him Champions League football next season, it could be a decision that will end up being made for him.

Liverpool can afford to play a big game for Bellingham. One of the key factors for Fenway Sports Group to seek investment in the club and recapitalize the business is that they can free up funds to support a transfer push this summer to avoid a major drop in cash flow.

Liverpool’s amortization costs (booking a transfer fee over the duration of the player’s contract) in their 2021/22 accounts for the year ending May 2022 show a value of £104m. That’s a figure around £4m less than last year and puts them fifth in the Premier League table. The difference between the Reds and third-placed Manchester City, whose 2021/22 amortization costs were £141m, is £38m. That £38m, for example, equates to a transfer fee of £190m on a five-year deal.

Liverpool’s model under FSG is to compete at the highest level while at least breaking even. Record sales of £594m for 2021/22 have generated a pre-tax profit of just £7.5m, showing the challenge football clubs face to make a profit and why the true value of the he increasing valuation of teams from year to year resides for owners, which is realized when they sell all or part of their stake in the club.

FSG are looking to sell part of their stake in the club and principal owner John W Henry said he had identified potential investors who could help in an exclusive interview with ECHO earlier this month.

But this summer, it will take more than Bellingham at Liverpool. In reality, they need at least two midfielders and a centre-back – and without the luxury of having salable assets which incur significant fees and are likely to bid farewell to Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain on free transfers, this will be the only case to be a conversion with considerable costs.

Liverpool will need to be capped on where to go when it comes to landing Bellingham, as they have other needs to meet. The problem is that, especially for Real Madrid, without having to disperse so much next summer, and with the almost ingrained demand from fans to bring in world-class talent, they will be more willing to bow to what Dortmund wants, and this could prove the difference in the end.

Even Real can do it. In their latest published accounts for the 2021/22 financial year, the Spanish giants reported revenue of €721.5m (£631m), with pre-tax profit of €12.9m (£11. 3 million pounds). This fiscal year (2022/23) Actual budget revenue of €769.6m (£673.2m) of revenue.

It’s the capital that the club sits on that could make the difference and that they can certainly count on Champions League football next season to improve not only their financial performance but also their competitive place Bellingham.
The club’s cash reserves fell from €122m (£106.7m) in 2021 to €425m (£371.7m) in 2022. This was largely due to the conclusion of a deal with US investment fund Sixth Street im May last year, which was signed worth around €360m (£314.9m) related to funding of the ongoing renovation of the club’s pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real also has an unused €354m (£309.6m) credit facility. Madrid’s improved outlook after a gloomy picture painted at the start of the pandemic comes from the fact that they were able to pull some ‘economic levers’ where they sold parts of the business to third parties and sold some future rights linked to the Bernabeu to clear certain off-balance sheet debt securities. The La Liga side have access to a lot of capital, something that will be crucial when it comes to raising the money for a new signing, and if more of the payment is passed on to the selling club faster than their rivals it will be a sweetener in any deal.

If Liverpool manage to raise a large chunk of the capital through a share sale, they will have wiggle room in the market this summer, although they are unlikely to be embroiled in a bidding war at any cost.

If they can come into the picture with a closed offer and get a chance to pitch to Bellingham, they’ll have more leeway when it comes to salaries than current accounts suggest.

The Reds’ wage commitments have skyrocketed by £54m year-on-year to £366m for 2021/22. Much of that increase, however, has to do with contract extensions being signed with a significant number of first-team players, as well as the associated bonuses that would come last season for winning two cups and doing so well both in the Champions League and Eredivisie.

While a new deal with Mohamed Salah will be included in the next set of accounts, no major bonus payments will be made for the year ending May 2023. There will also be significant salary space with the departures of Roberto Firmino and the probable departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.

But facing Real could be even tougher than Manchester City this summer, as Real are very strong in the market to make a significant jump. Liverpool must manufacture several and the cost of this operation will be significant.