Could PSG’s Kylian Mbappé land at Bayern Munich?

A mega-phenom striker with an incredible scoring and assisting record wants out at his current club in order to win a Champions League trophy — and no, his name is not Harry Kane. Reports out of Radio MARCA hint at big drama in Paris, Lionel Messi at the center of it, and world superstar Kylian Mbappé wants out.

Mario Cortegana of Radio MARCA reported the news, with bombshell nuggets about the goings-on at Paris Saint-Germain:

“Those who know that locker room say that Messi has as much power as he had at Barça.”
“Like Mbappé, and many others, they consider that it is not the most favorable environment to win the Champions League.”

Fabrizio Romano picked up the story as well, with the subtext that a move in next summer's transfer window is on the table:

Bayern Munich need a striker. Links to Tottenham’s Harry Kane persist, and the English star is doing little to dispel them. Club president Herbert Hainer recently noted that it would require “the right player” on the market, and sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić has apparently directed the scouting staff at Säbener Straße to cast their net far and wide.

Would Mbappé fit? The Frenchman is a superlative talent, and though he’ll only be 24 next summer, he’s been at the pinnacle of world football for many years already. He was one of the 2018 World Cup’s signature spectacles — and for all their recent efforts at getting the club into shape, it would appear the culture challenges at PSG remain numerous.

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At Bayern, he’d find a young coach in Julian Nagelsmann who could seriously do with a clinical finisher playing through the middle — and not only a more prototypical striker but someone who would not compromise the quality of the starting XI with his inclusion or affect the team’s ability to maximize technical interplay in the final third. And though the club is nicknamed FC Hollywood, he’d land in a locker room with not only strong personalities, but a strict culture of professionalism that may just bring the best out in him.

Of course, there’s the matter of Mathys Tel: the 17-year-old prodigy Bayern shelled out big money to land this summer. Tel has been touted as the “next Mbappé” — but he’s not yet the current Mbappé, and he might also just as easily find a home on the Bayern wings. Or in a striker partnership with his countryman in a 4-2-2-2 for the ages.

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Finances would undoubtedly be an issue, but a club that seriously explored Erling Haaland a year ago likely has some ability to maneuver. Robert Lewandowski defined an entire generation at Bayern. With Mbappé, the Rekordmeister would easily be among the Champions League favorites year-in, year-out — with an organization built for the long haul, and one of the game’s most tactically exciting managers to work with.

If Bayern are willing to go for a player the stature of Harry Kane — and leverage any situation where a good player is unhappy at his present club to drive down the transfer fee — then might Kylian Mbappé be the answer? Might the Bavarians have a case against the likes of Real Madrid? Food for thought.