Manchester United have been handed a huge transfer boost by rivals Manchester City as the Citizens have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign French striking sensation Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has risen to prominence this season and is setting Ligue1 on fire with his performances as he continues to wow people week in week out.

He has become such an important player for Monaco, who are on top of the Ligue1 table, level on points with Paris Saint-Germain with a game in hand on the Paris outfit.

Manchester City were believed to be involved in signing Kylian Mbappe in a world-record deal, but now, it is understood that City have baulked at the price tag that has been placed on the young Frenchman. It has been reported that Manchester City have been put off by £110million asking price.

This paves way for Manchester United to try and pursue their interest in the hotshot striker, as they continue to find a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is yet to sign a contract extension with the club.

Marcus Rashford sparked United supporters into a frenzy this week after he and Mbappe became friends on Instagram and liked each other’s posts. However, a deal for the 18-year-old is likely to be some way off after Monaco claimed this week they are confident of holding on to their star man.

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said: “No player has told us they want to leave. Of course, we will talk with the players. But with the World Cup taking place in 2018, Thomas [Lemar], Kylian nor Bernardo [Silva] would not want to leave. But this is not the time for discussions. We will do everything to keep them.”

The Monaco president makes sense here. No player would be willing to move to a new club just before the world cup summer, and it would be totally unsurprising if Mbappe ends up staying at Monaco.

Mbappe has scored a whopping 23 goals and 11 assists in 37 appearances and his contract runs until 2019. This means that the striker would be available for a much cheaper price at the end of next season. A lot would depend on his performances next season and his involvement in the world cup.

Even if he continues to perform well next season, and performs well in the World Cup as well, his price would still be low, as his contract expires in the summer of 2019.

For now, it is totally illogical to hope for Mbappe’s arrival.