Kylian Mbappe continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal can finally seal Kylian Mbappe transfer today after eight-year scouting mission

Arsenal continue to be linked with a move for Kylian Mbappe as his contract with PSG comes towards an end, amid rumours over a transfer to Real Madrid

01 Jan 2024, 09:00 by Luke Thrower · football.london

Arsenal could bring an end to an eight-year scouting mission as they're handed the chance to land Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe as soon as today [January 1]. The Frenchman continues to be linked with an exit from his club following on from an ongoing contract debacle.

The forward has made a name for himself as one of the best in the world in recent years, leading to talks over a move elsewhere such as the Premier League or La Liga. That has never quite materialised though, with a new deal very often being struck with the French champions.

That hasn't been the case so far though as last summer the 25-year-old refused to trigger a one-year contract extension, meaning he had just 12 months remaining on his deal. Panic stations were hit at the Parc des Princes, where drastic measures were taken to try and strike a compromise.

Either a new deal was signed or an exit would be negotiated, but neither came as the club isolated Mbappe from the first-team and pre-season training camps. Eventually, once the Ligue 1 season was underway, he was called back and hasn't seemingly looked like leaving since.

However, fast forward to the winter, and there are just six months remaining on a contract that is dwindling as each day continues to pass. There are more options on the table and a potential exit seems all the more likely for teams that continue to circle a potential bargain.

Arsenal have been one of those teams linked in recent months and could confirm a deal as soon as January 1 due to pre-contract registration. With those final months of his contract ahead, Mbappe can reach an agreement with a club outside of Ligue 1 to sign for them in the summer.

If that is the Gunners, then he could be confirmed as soon as possible, bringing them much-needed firepower in the attack, even if they have to wait a few months. Such a deal could bring an end to an eight-year mission following the club missing out on Mbappe in 2018.

That was according to former scout Gilles Grimandi, who told Ladbrokes, via the Express: "We tried to convince him [Mbappe] before, in 2016. We met his parents in London who came to the training ground and alongside Arsene and Richard Law we travelled to meet Kylian in the South of France.

"We tried to convince him, but I don't think it was the best time for us; that meeting took place the day after we'd just lost to Swansea at home in the league, which itself followed a defeat at Old Trafford and I remember we had a big game away just three days later against Tottenham, so the timing was not ideal."

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