Journalist explains 'third option' that could see Liverpool sign Kylian Mbappe for free

French football journalist Julien Laurens told ESPN FC that Kylian Mbappe has three options regarding his future and the third one could see him join Liverpool albeit a bit later than most supporters would prefer.

Speaking to ESPN FC, via the Express, Laurens claims: "[Mbappe] can extend the contract like PSG have offered him, another four-year deal with a huge pay rise which would take him to around the similar money that Neymar is on.

"We're talking around €35million (£30.1m) a year, which is a lot of money. He could also not want to extend but he also knows no one can pay for him right now. Not in transfer fee, not in those kinds of wages either.

"Not Real Madrid, not Liverpool, they don't have that kind of money unless they sell a lot of players, which is not going to be immediate. So he knows that.

"The third option is to run down his contract. PSG won't be happy, they can't afford to let him go on a free in the summer 2022 but that could be better for Kylian."

First of all - THIRTY MILLION POUNDS A YEAR!?!

For a 22-year-old.

While Jurgen Klopp is a fan of Mbappe and has been for several years already, it seems doubtful that Liverpool will ever be able pay a single footballer £150m over five years.

Unless he arrives for free. There's a lot to unpack from Lauren's comments to ESPN FC but the bottom line, for me anyway, is that Liverpool's best chance of signing the French forward is if he arrives for free in July 2022.

His current deal will expire at the end of June 2022 which means he would need to spend another year in Paris. This isn't ideal if he already wants to leave the club as it would mean postponing his preferred plans for his future.

And it would also give the likes of Real Madrid the chance to gazump Liverpool once they've generated the necessary funds to break Mbappe's PSG contract.

On one hand, Liverpool could sign Mbappe in 2022 when he's entering his prime and could spend what they would have on a transfer fee to fund his incredible wage demands but on the other hand, that could leave them vulnerable to missing out on signing him altogether.

There's no doubt that he will be the best player in the world or at least top three by the time he turns 24.

Erling Haaland will push him close and if the Norwegian is playing for a top tier club in Europe, he'll be fighting Mbappe for the Balon d'Or.

According to Transfermarkt, the pair has directly contributed to a combined 95 goals this season which is just three fewer than Liverpool (98) have scored in all competitions this season.

If that's not a statistic that highlights that these two forwards are the future of football, I don't know what is.

Mbappe would be a dream signing for Liverpool but how often does Michael Edwards make the obvious move for an established, world-renowned player?

Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker are the only two names that spring to mind, with their arrivals costing the club a combined £141million.

They have been incredible for Liverpool but to be fair to our sporting director, so has Andy Robertson, who joined the club for a reported £10million fee while Kevin Stewart went the opposite way for £7.5million, effectively seeing the Scotsman join for £2.5million.

Whether or not Mbappe joins Liverpool in the next year, it's safe to say that Liverpool are in safe hands in the transfer market.

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