Mbappe training with Klopp's "perfect midfielder" as PSG duo outcasted

10 August 2023 , 07:47

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Kylian Mbappe is refusing to sign a new contract at PSG (Image: Aurelien Meunier/PSG via Getty Images)

Kylian Mbappe and former Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum are among a group of PSG 's "unwanted" players that are training away from the first-team.

The Frenchman's future is a major talking point given he's not prepared to sign a new deal, which means he's available to leave for free next summer. PSG are desperate to avoid that happening and want to offload him this summer as they take a firm stance.

They believe Mbappe has an agreement to join Real Madrid next summer and are not considering him as part of their plans, at least early on. He's set to miss their Ligue 1 opener vs Lorient and may well sit out all of August's other games against Toulouse and Lens, as per ESPN.

PSG are in the midst of a squad overhaul as those they no longer want are training away from the main group. Mbappe is among them as in Wijnaldum, whose move from Liverpool has not worked out despite his impressive efforts at Anfield. So much so that he was sent out on loan last term to Roma.

Jurgen Klopp has previously hailed his qualities, stating in 2019: "He is the perfect midfielder. He has all the things you need: both directions, small spaces, big spaces, hard challenges, fine football, all of that. Gini is a good personality in the dressing room. He is not the guy who says yes to everything."

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Leandro Parades and Julian Draxler, who both spent last season at other clubs, are also part of the group who have been deemed surplus to requirements or the Parisians want to offload.

Gini Wijnaldum and Kylian Mbappe are training away from the main PSG squad

The club's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has told Mbappe to either sign a new deal or leave this summer, but the player has stood firm. Some in the French capital are prepared to make the Frenchman sit on the sidelines for an entire year as punishment as they recruit new forwards.

The Qatari said earlier this summer: “We want him to stay but he can't leave for free. There was a verbal agreement and he had discussed it in an interview. And I was really shocked to learn that he had decided to leave for free. It’s very disappointing because Mbappe is a fantastic boy, a real gentleman and to leave for free, weakening the biggest club in France, it’s not him. When I heard the news, I was shocked and disappointed.”

Al Hilal are the only club to have bid for the 24-year-old, but he had no interest in speaking to them despite their world-record offer and promise of a lucrative contract. Few clubs have the finances to pursue a deal, meaning any stand-off is set to continue.

Samuel Meade