Manchester City in advanced talks to sign Kylian Mbappe as Real Madrid loiter

Manchester City have entered talks to sign Kylian Mbappe from Monaco, which will break the world record transfer fee, currently held by Manchester United for the signing of Paul Pogba. Real Madrid are currently favourites to sign the Monaco forward and have reportedly agreed a deal in principle for a fee in the range of €180m (£160.9m, $209.8m).

Goal reports that City have reportedly moved ahead in the race and are now in advanced talks for the forward, but have been told that Real need to sell Gareth Bale to United in order to sanction a deal for the Frenchman. The Citizens have already spoken to the Monaco officials along with vice-president Vadim Vasilyev, and believe that a deal can take place that will put every other transfer thus far in the shadows.

Arsenal have also been heavily linked with a move for the forward, with the Gunners reportedly going in with a massive bid, but have since given up on the chase and moved their interest to midfielder Thomas Lemar. Arsene Wenger also publicly denied that speculation and revealed that he expected the highly-rated 18-year-old to remain at the Stade Louis II.

Meanwhile, Monaco have threatened to take legal action against Mbappe's suitors, who are accused of making illegal approaches to sign the French starlet. Real, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, City and even Liverpool have all been heavily linked with the player and run the risk of a transfer ban if found guilty of any such transgressions.

City manager Pep Guardiola has spoken to Mbappe personally, according to the report, and the Catalan's employers are trying their best to urge Monaco to sell. However, Madrid, who were also among the clubs that have received a warning, have to sell a host of players to keep themselves within the Financial Fair Play rules.

After failing to recoup any fee for James Rodriguez, who joined Bayern Munich on a loan deal, the Champions League holders have managed to sanction transfers of Alvaro Morata to Chelsea and Danilo to City. They are now waiting for United to make an approach for Bale, which will allow the deal to happen, while there is reportedly no such restriction for City.