Manchester United enter race to sign Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe

Manchester United have entered the race to sign Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe this summer, with Real Madrid and Arsenal also hot on the heels of the Frenchman. The Gunners had a £87m ($112m) bid rejected for the forward this summer, with the Ligue 1 champions holding out for more, given that the 18 year old is regarded as the hottest prospect in the market at this point.

The Sun reports that United officials have analysed the situation and believe that Madrid are in pole position for the forward, who is a huge fan of Real manager Zinedine Zidane and would love to team up with his childhood hero. Zidane has won the Champions League for the second time in consecutive years after beating Juventus 4-1 in the final at Cardiff, making a good case for the young forward to consider a move to Spain to team up with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 18-year-old has scored 26 goals and assisted eight in all competitions for Monaco in their title winning campaign and has a bright future ahead of him. Monaco value the forward at a world record fee of £100m ($129m) and will not hesitate to hold on to the forward if a club is unable to match the fee.

The move has already been backed by United legend Dwight Yorke, who wants the Red Devils to sign the forward and tee him up with Marcus Rashford up front and let him run riot on the opposition defence. United have also been linked with a move for Antoine Griezmann but the forward has decided to stay in Spain for one more year after Atletico Madrid were handed a transfer ban.

"If I was Manchester United manager I'd go and get Kylian Mbappe, the young kid at Monaco," said Yorke, speaking exclusively to 888sport. "Second favourite I'd go for [Romelu] Lukaku. Those are the two I'd look at. Then Griezmann or Gareth Bale or someone of that stature. Once we've got Champions League those are the best and certainly that Mbappe kid. Him and Rashford would run riot. You'd just let them play."