PARIS: Real Madrid are not hiding their desire to sign Kylian Mbappe but Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino insists he can’t imagine the France superstar playing for another club this season.
Mbappe is out of contract next June and his future has dominated headlines in France and in Spain since Lionel Messi’s shock move from Barcelona to Paris last week.
In Madrid they believe Mbappe does not want to share more of the limelight with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner. “Madrid are not giving up,” said the cover of sports daily AS on Thursday.
PSG, meanwhile, want to keep the 22-year-old to complete a dream front line with Messi and Neymar.
Whether Real make their move before the August 31 transfer deadline remains to be seen, but Mbappe is in no rush to extend his contract at the Parc des Princes.
Nevertheless, while Neymar and Messi build up their fitness following extended summer breaks, Mbappe has played a starring role for his club at the beginning of the campaign.
He set up the decisive goal as PSG won 2-1 at Troyes on the opening weekend and then created three goals as Pochettino’s team beat Strasbourg 4-2 last Saturday.
“Kylian seems in good shape, he is motivated and working very hard to have a good season. That is what we are all thinking about,” Pochettino told reporters on Thursday ahead of PSG’s trip to Brittany to play Brest on Friday.
“Kylian is our player and I don’t see him being anywhere else this season.”
The speculation about his future led to Mbappe being jeered by some PSG supporters before the Strasbourg game, but Pochettino insisted the France World Cup winner was taking it in his stride.
“Kylian is preparing for tomorrow’s game. The only conversations I have with Kylian are about football,” the Argentine added.
“He has a year left on his contract, if he doesn’t renew it. We are happy with him and from what I see he is happy with us too.”
On Thursday Pochettino gave little away when asked if Messi might make his debut for his new club in the slightly ramshackle surroundings of Brest’s Stade Francis-Le Ble.
It would be quite the contrast to the Argentine’s glitzy unveiling before a packed crowd in Paris last weekend, but PSG may give the 34-year-old more time to get ready.
Neymar, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Angel Di Maria and new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma are also yet to make their first appearances this season.
“He has given us so much in the last few days,” Pochettino said of Messi. “There is a great atmosphere in the squad and he has settled in very quickly.”
Going nowhere? PSG bullish about Mbappe future
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Going nowhere? PSG bullish about Mbappe future
- Mbappe is out of contract next June and his future has dominated headlines in France and Spain since Messi's shock move to Paris
- "Kylian is our player and I don't see him being anywhere else this season," Mauricio Pochettino told reporters Thursday
England ‘not fearing anything’ against India, says Curran
- England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday
- Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed
MUMBAI: England will go into their T20 World Cup semifinal against India with no fear, said all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday, adding that their first job would be to silence a raucous home crowd.
England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday, with a place in the final against South Africa or New Zealand at stake.
The noise will be deafening at times in the cauldron-like confines of the Wankhede Stadium.
But Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates — such as Will Jacks at Mumbai Indians — play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed.
“It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semifinal of a World Cup,” left-arm seamer Curran told reporters.
Curran was in the international wilderness a year ago but forced his way back into the England squad with eye-catching performances in T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL.
“India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect,” he said.
“The IPL, no question, has helped a lot. Having played in the ground many times, there’s not many unknowns.”
England experienced a hostile crowd at the Wankhede in their first match of the tournament when they beat Nepal in a final-ball thriller.
It was Curran who bowled the nerveless final “death” over, conceding just five runs when Nepal needed 10, to stave off an embarrassing defeat.
He then repeated the feat against Italy and has contributed with the bat from number six, scoring 149 runs so far with a best of 43 not out.
“We’re not fearing anything and I’m sure both teams are really excited by the challenge,” Curran said, adding England could judge how well they were playing by the volume of the fans.
“If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. That’s our positive way of looking at it,” said Curran.
It is the third T20 World Cup in a row that England will have played India in the semifinals and each time the winners went on to lift the trophy.
In 2022, England crushed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide and went on to beat Pakistan in the Melbourne final.
Two years ago India won in Guyana by a similarly dominant 68 runs before downing South Africa in Barbados.
South Africa face New Zealand in the first semifinal on Wednesday. The final will take place on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
“I guess this is what the last four or five weeks have been building for,” said Curran.
“And hopefully we can take one more step toward the final.”
