Can Monaco defend their Ligue 1 title next season?
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Monaco defied expectations last season, as they brought an end to Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance in Ligue 1.
Leonardo Jardim’s side were plying their trade in Ligue 2 just five years ago, but are now the champions of French football, having finished eight points ahead of PSG last month. Their victory was quite the feat, but it has come with some unwanted attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
This summer is likely to be a tough one for Monaco, as numerous bids begin to flood in for their best players. Jardim will certainly have a job on his hands. Many of his players are young and at the start of their careers - the opportunity to double, triple or quadruple their wages will undoubtedly turn some heads.
Bernardo Silva became the first casualty. He agreed to join Premier League side Manchester City in a £43.5 million deal. The Portuguese midfielder could be joined in the city by Fabinho, with Manchester United interested.
Although, Tiemoué Bakayoko appears to be the next in line to leave, with Chelsea having lodged a £35 million bid for his services. Should the 22-year-old insist on a move, Jardim will have little choice but to let him go.
Benjamin Mendy, Thomas Lemar and Djibril Sidibe have all been tipped to leave. Yet, with Monaco likely to receive funds of close to £150 million, should all of those players go, there will be plenty in the bank to bring in adequate replacements.
Jardim has proved this season that he has a knack for finding world class players on a shoestring budget and will be confident that he can put together another fantastic squad. He had already captured Youri Tielemans, a player with bags of potential, and will undoubtedly have a number of other top targets on his radar.
However, there is one player that he would struggle to replace - Kylian Mbappé. The teenage Frenchman is being tipped to become the world’s most expensive player after netting 26 times and providing 14 assists last season. The club would likely receive £100 million for their star striker, but there are very few players with his quality and even fewer that would be willing to join the French league.
PSG will be favourites to reclaim the Ligue 1 title. The French club are reportedly on the verge of acquiring Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will provide PSG with another 20+ goals each season. They will be eager to reassert themselves next season and will likely continue to spend big this summer in order to do so.
It will be tough for Monaco to pick up where they left off, given that there will be a number of new faces bedding in. But, nobody expected Jardim’s side to lift the title last season and they did - if Monaco can hold on to Mbappé, they have a good chance of shocking their closest rivals yet again.
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