Mauricio Pochettino is confident speculation around Kylian Mbappe's future, which the player himself provoked this week, will not have a negative impact on Paris Saint-Germain in the final weeks of the season.
PSG have been trying to secure new contracts for superstars Mbappe and Neymar, but progress appears more likely in the case of the Brazil forward.
Mbappe, like fellow Champions League sensation Erling Haaland, continues to be linked with the world's top clubs.
While Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland's representatives reportedly met with Barcelona and Real Madrid on Thursday, Mbappe's actions also added to doubts around his future.
The France forward told RTL constant discussion of his performances in his home country was "tiring", especially as, playing in Ligue 1, "I'm here all the time".
"I knew when I signed in Paris that I was going to be in this context," Mbappe said. "We'll see after that."
The 22-year-old added it "of course" would play into his thinking when considering his next move, although no decision has yet been made.
Mbappe said: "If I had moved forward, I would have come to talk about it by now. Of course, when I make my decision, I will come and talk about it."
These words could reasonably worry PSG coach Pochettino, who relies heavily on Mbappe.
The former Monaco man has 30 goals and nine assists in all competitions this season, his 39 goal involvements ranking fifth across Europe's 'top five' leagues.
But Pochettino said ahead of PSG's top-of-the-table clash with Lille: "I didn't listen to what Kylian said. I can't comment on it and I don't have an opinion on that."
Mbappe became the youngest player to reach 100 Ligue 1 goals prior to the international break and has a career-high six league assists against Lille.
Pochettino expects the World Cup winner, netting once every 91.9 minutes this season, to set talk of his future aside and perform again.
"The truth is that he is good, he has a good state of mind and has trained well," Pochettino said. "He came back ready to help the team.
"We will manage the whole team and not just Kylian in order to achieve our end-of-season goals.
"Things need time to be settled. Kylian is very focused on giving the best for the team. I don't see any problem with his situation. He will give everything to help the team win.
"I don't think Kylian's end of season will be affected by all this. He's focused on giving his best every training session and every game."
PSG are without a host of players against Lille, including Marco Verratti, who is set to be evaluated again this weekend ahead of the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.
But Neymar, restricted to just 19 appearances this season, is ready to have an impact in the run-in.
"The truth is that the international break was important for Neymar," Pochettino said. "He was able to train at a good level for two weeks.
"Now he has to play. We're happy with the way he trained. We are pleased with his involvement and improvements in the areas he needs to improve."
PSG have not lost at home to Lille in the league since April 1996 but, following an away goalless draw, could go two without a win against them for the first time since a run of four games between January 2010 and April 2012.
Rangnick confirms Bayern Munich contact
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed Bayern Munich have been in contact over their soon-to-be vacant coaching position.
Bayern are on the lookout for a new coach, with Thomas Tuchel set to depart at the end of the season.
The Bundesliga giants wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso, but the 42-year-old snubbed their advances, and those of Liverpool, to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern's search has now seemingly led them to Rangnick, the former Manchester United interim boss who is now coach of Austria's national team.
Rangnick, though, is paying full attention to Austria's upcoming Euro 2024 campaign.
"There has been contact from the side of Bayern Munich and I have informed the Austrian Football Association," Rangnick said in an interview with 90 Minuten.
"We have a very trusting relationship. My focus is on the Austrian national team. We are focusing completely on the European championships.
"I feel very well here. At the moment there is no reason to intensively deal with this."
Rangnick has plenty of Bundesliga experience, having previously coached Stuttgart, Schalke, Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
While Bayern's hopes of securing a 12th Bundesliga title have long since been over, they remain in with a shout of salvaging their season, with a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on the horizon.
According to Opta's predictive model, Bayern only have a 37 per cent chance of overcoming Los Blancos, however.
Austria, meanwhile, have been drawn into a Euro 2024 group that also includes Poland, the Netherlands and tournament favourites France.
Rangnick's team will face Les Bleus on June 17, before taking on Poland four days later, and rounding off their group campaign against the Dutch on June 25.
Haaland out of Brighton clash, confirms Man City boss Guardiola
Manchester City will be without Erling Haaland when they take on Brighton, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
Haaland missed Saturday's FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea with a muscular injury he sustained against Real Madrid last week.
And the issue will also see the striker, who has scored 20 Premier League goals this season, miss out against the Seagulls on Thursday.
"Erling is not ready for tomorrow," said Guardiola, who added that City will be able to call on Phil Foden and John Stones.
"It's not a big issue but he's not available."
Haaland has scored, on average, every 109 minutes in the league this season.
However, the Norwegian has actually underperformed his expected goals (xG) of 23.7.
He has also chipped in with five assists, giving him an overall goal contributions tally of 25. Haaland has created 28 goalscoring chances for team-mates across the campaign.
After Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea on Tuesday, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City sit four points off the summit in third place, albeit with two games in hand.
Second-place Liverpool will aim to move level on points with the Gunners by beating Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
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