Football Manager simulates how Kylian Mbappe would do at Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City

Few players in recent years have captured the football world's imagination like Kylian Mbappe has done.

The 18-year-old French forward had an outstanding breakout season in 2016/17, bagging 26 goals to help Monaco win Ligue 1 while embarrassing a few Champions League defences along the way.

As a result, he has become the hottest property in world football.

Monaco are trying hard to keep hold of him with an astonishing new contract offer , but it looks likely he'll be departing for pastures new - potentially in a breathtaking world record transfer worth up to £120m.

Quite where he ends up remains to be seen, however. Real Madrid, Arsenal and PSG are currently the strongest possible candidates to prize Mbappe away from the south of France, but now even Liverpool are getting in on the act and mega rich Man City are also in need of a striker.

So where will be this time next year? We got our friends at Football Manager to run some simulations and the results are quite something.

But first up, let's have a look at how his own ability could change. Here are his current FM stats:

And this is what he'd improve to in 2018 if he were to join fellow French outfit PSG:

A pretty strong leap, we're sure you'll agree. But while his potential isn't in doubt, what effect would his arrival have on the 2017/18 campaign for PSG, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City?

Thanks to the FM game engine, you're about to find out. And the results are very intriguing...

Mbappe at PSG

• PSG pay a world record £118 million for Mbappe although the fee includes several performance based add-ons.
• Mbappe is played on the left side of a 4-5-1 formation with Edinson Cavani played as the lone striker.
• He makes 32 appearances for PSG but 12 of those are from the bench as Unai Emery tries his best to keep Julian Draxler happy by giving him regular playing time on the left flank.
• Mbappe scores 11 goals and provides seven assists.
• He earns an average match rating of 7.26 which is the seventh highest in the PSG team.
• Mbappe’s best performance comes in PSG's 4-0 dismantling of Montpellier at the Parc des Princes where Mbappe scores one and sets another to earn the Man of the Match award with a rating of 9.2.
• PSG regain the Ligue 1 title with Mbappe in the team but lose the Coupe de Ligue final, are knocked out in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France and are beaten on away goals by Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Mbappe at Real Madrid

• Real pay a record fee of £120 million to land Mbappe but only a fraction of that is paid upfront.
• Zidane sells Benzema to Juventus for £55 million to help pay for some of the Mbappe deal.
• The Madrid boss sticks to the 4-2-3-1 formation that has brought the club success in recent years with Ronaldo played as the lone striker and Mbappe played on the left-wing.
• Mbappe makes 28 appearances in the famous white shirt of Real with his only sustained period of absence coming when Zidane elected to play Lucas Vasquez on the right flank which saw Gareth Bale take Mbappe's spot on the left side.
• Mbappe notches nine goals for his new club and creates 13 assists, the majority of which are for Ronaldo.
• He also earns an average match rating of 7.21 which is the sixth highest in the Madrid squad.
• Mbappe's best performance comes in Madrid's 3-0 victory over Real Betis where the young Frenchman scores twice.
• Real go on to win the league by three points and reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Mbappe at Arsenal

• Arsenal sign Mbappe for £75 million – all of it upfront.
• Mbappe is played predominantly on the left side of a 4-2-3-1 formation but occasionally features as the lone striker.
• He makes 32 appearances for Arsenal – 23 as a starter and nine from the substitutes bench.
• The Frenchman scores 14 times, 13 of which come in the Premier League.
• He also sets up five goals for the team and earns an average match rating of 7.30 which is the fifth highest in the Arsenal squad.
• His best performance comes in Arsenal's 4-1 home win over West Brom where Mbappe scores one and assists two for a match rating of 9.9.
• Arsenal end the season in second place, just two points adrift of league champions Manchester City, while also finishing runners-up in the FA Cup, beaten by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and eliminated in the fourth round of the League Cup.

Mbappe at Liverpool

• Liverpool pay £72 million for Mbappe with all of it being paid upfront.
• Klopp elects to play a 4-2-3-1 with Mane and Mbappe switching flanks at various points in the season.
• Mbappe makes 33 appearances for the Reds with eight of those coming from the bench.
• The French teenager nets six times for his new club and creates seven assists.
• He ends the season with an average rating of 7.04 which is the ninth best at the club.
• His best performance comes in a 3-1 away victory over Southampton where he scores one and plays a handful of key passes for a match rating of 9.0.
• Liverpool end the season in fourth spot and with the League Cup trophy in their cabinet as they beat West Ham 2-0 in the final. Klopp's team are knocked out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage and are eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 at the hands of Benfica.

Mbappe at Man City

• Manchester City complete the signing of Mbappe for £100 million with the majority of the fee being paid upfront.
• City sell fringe players Wilfried Bony, Nolito and Fabian Delph to pay for some of the Mbappe fee.
• Guardiola switches between a 4-5-1 and 4-2-3-1 throughout the season with Mbappe taking on a variety of roles within both formations, being played on both wings and through the middle as the lone striker.
• Mbappe makes 27 appearances for City and forms a good partnership with Gabriel Jesus over the course of the season.
• The Frenchman scores 12 times and sets up 10 more, with eight of those assists benefiting Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.
• Mbappe earns an average rating of 7.19 which is the seventh highest in the City team.
• His best performance of the season comes during a 5-0 FA Cup win over Leeds as Mbappe bags a brace and sets up City's fourth goal to earn a match rating of 9.5.
• City claim the Premier League title and finish five points clear of the chasing pack. They reach the FA Cup semi-finals and the League Cup quarter-finals but suffer another last 16 exit in the Champions League, this time at the hands of Atletico Madrid.

So there we have it: the future has been written.

All we need now is for him to actually, you know, move somewhere...