Transfer Centre

Leonardo Jardim: 'Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar fully focused on AS Monaco'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 02 August 2017

Leonardo Jardim insists that it is "important" AS Monaco keep hold of their remaining star names as they prepare for the start of their Ligue 1 title defence.

AS Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim has insisted that both Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar are "focused" ahead of the new Ligue 1 campaign, despite the ongoing transfer speculation surrounding the attacking duo.

Mbappe is reportedly at the top of Zinedine Zidane's wishlist at Real Madrid with less than a month of the window left to run, while Lemar has been linked to both Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks.

Jardim has already lost a number of his title-winning squad this summer, seeing Tiemoue Bakayoko, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva depart, but he is hopeful that he can keep his current group intact for the new campaign.

"All the players who were important last season are important to keep for the club," he told reporters. "But it has been showed over the years that it's not always possible to keep the players, and you know how our project works.

"So our goal is to work well with players who will stay here after the transfer window closes. Yes, [Mbappe] did not score in pre-season, but he is working hard to change things. It's not only about him, all the young players who were here last year and had a great season,

"Fabinho, Lemar, Kylian, we're talking about them joining other clubs, but they stay focused. Of course, Fabinho and Lemar are older, they may be a bit more mature, but Kylian, even these last two days, he's been working well. They know that the most important thing is the pitch."

Monaco's title defence begins with a clash against Toulouse at the Stade Louis II on Friday evening.