Liverpool journalist Neil Jones has shared his thoughts on the reports linking Kylian Mbappe with a surprise move to Anfield this summer.

Mbappe only has a year left on his current contract with Paris Saint-Germain after refusing to extend it by a further year.

PSG are wary of losing their most important player for nothing, and are said to be looking for buyers, and Liverpool have been linked with a transfer for the Frenchman.

The Reds reportedly want to take Mbappe on loan this summer, and then, let him walk away for free next year, but according to Jones, there is very little in that rumour.

“Sorry to disappoint Liverpool fans, but I don’t think there’s any chance of the club signing Kylian Mbappe, on loan or permanently at this stage, following speculation of that ilk again in the last few days,” Jones said in his CaughtOffside column.

“Jurgen Klopp has shut those rumours down, and I think he said it all really, with the reality being that the financial parameters make it impossible. It’s not just about a transfer fee or a loan fee, but it’s his wages as well. As I previously wrote here, the time for Liverpool to sign Mbappe was when he was at Monaco but any speculation since then has been mostly fan-led.

“I also think it’s a bit of an open secret that Mbappe is going to Real Madrid next summer. That’s what PSG believe and that’s what everything points towards, so do Liverpool really want a player, as talented and game-changing as he is, that they’re only going to be able to build around for a year and then he’s gone? Does any big club really want to do that? Ironically, the one club who probably would do something like that is PSG themselves, so I don’t see any world where Mbappe joins Liverpool on loan.

“Again, the priority for Liverpool at the moment has got to be midfield – the forward areas aren’t really a concern at the moment, they’ve got five players there who’ve looked on form in pre-season, and the likes of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have got the potential to keep getting better. The midfield, by contrast, needs major surgery – it did at the start of the window and it still does now.”

Real Madrid are reportedly waiting to sign Mbappe for free next summer, and avoid paying a transfer fee of €250m.