Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford was on Kylian Mbappe’s transfer wish-list handed to Paris Saint-Germain chiefs this summer.
Mbappe opted to sign a three-year contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year, keeping him in the French capital until 2025. It ensured he would not join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer, as many had expected – bringing an end to a long-running transfer saga.
There have been multiple reports claiming that Mbappe would hold great sway in the club's sporting decisions as part of his new three-year contract extension with the Ligue 1 champions. These reports have subsequently been fleshed out with Mbappe’s specific requests to the club over the summer months.
PSG football advisor Luis Campos has gone on record to state his unhappiness with the club’s transfer window, hinting that a series of transfer targets were missed out on over the summer window.
PSG recruited six new players over the summer including midfield quartet Fabian Ruiz, Renato Sanches, Carlos Soler and Vitinha, alongside defender Nordi Mukiele and forward Hugo Ekitike on loan from Reims. Yet Campos has reflected that he was less than happy with how the window played out for the club.
Campos struck a tone of frustration: “We did not have a good transfer window. The window is open for a long time…the first week we got Vitinha. After that, we had six or seven weeks with nothing. And in the last week, every player is much more expensive. From the moment that economic decisions condition football, it is not a good market.
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“We reached the end of the market without the desired balance or perfection. We have a huge level of quality in the squad, without a doubt. Then, in the end, we did not reach perfection. It is always difficult to achieve perfection.”
A report in RMC Sport has outlined how Mbappe requested to Campos and his team to sign a new striker whom he could play alongside, with United striker Rashford among those who the Frenchman directly referenced. He also had the name of Robert Lewandowski – who joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich – alongside Barca’s Ousmane Dembele (Mbappe’s France international teammate) and Gianluca Scamacca, who signed for West Ham from Sassuolo.
Rashford is the most eye-catching name on the list, with the 24-year-old enduring a difficult season last time out with just five goals across 32 appearances. That form has seen him drop out of the England international setup, but his form has improved in front of goal under new United boss Erik ten Hag – netting against Liverpool and twice in the victory over Arsenal.
PSG have won ten of their opening 11 games this season across all competitions and are currently top of Ligue 1 with 22 points from their first eight league games.
