Real Madrid will reportedly sign Kylian Mbappe on a pre-contract agreement in January after missing out on the Paris Saint-Germain forward this summer.
Los Blancos acted on their long-running interest in the 22-year-old during the final week of the transfer window, lodging three bids in an attempt to convince PSG to sell one of their star assets.
The last of those bids arrived on deadline day and was worth a total of €220m (£189m), but PSG never responded to the approach.
Mbappe will now spend at least the first half of the season at the Parc des Princes, where he is expected to play in a front three alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, but he has repeatedly told the club that he has no intention of signing a new contract.
The France international's current deal expires next summer, meaning that he can leave the club on a free transfer and can open talks over a pre-contract agreement from January.
Goal reports that Real Madrid will now wait until then to resume talks with Mbappe, and that the Spanish giants are expected to snap up the World Cup winner on a free transfer next summer.
Liverpool have also been linked with Mbappe in recent transfer windows, but he is understood to have his heart set on a move to the Bernabeu.
Mbappe has already scored three goals and created two more in four outings this season, taking his overall tally for PSG to 135 goals and 63 assists in 175 appearances.
Barney Corkhill
