Nike would have no influence on Mbappe's move to Liverpool (Echo)

He would be the man that many Liverpool fans would love to see at Anfield, but could Kylian Mbappe be a realistic target for the Reds?

For a variety of reasons, it would be one of the most difficult moves to pull off for Michael Edwards and co, as was discussed on the latest Blood Red podcast.

It is certainly set to be an interesting end to the season for the club, while the summer would be almost as exciting should this move come off.

Brought to the French champions for a fee of €180 million, PSG are not going to want to lose one of their star assets, and one of the most important members of their squad, not just now, but potentially well into the future.

The rumours, though, will not go away.

From Fabinho comments, photos with Liverpool minority shareholder LeBron James, and the #Mbappe2020 campaign to his personal social media activity and Jurgen Klopp compliments in an interview with BBC Sport, there is plenty of interest from fans - understandably - in getting a deal done.

But a figure of more than £200 million would be needed in terms of a transfer fee, while his wages would be well in excess of the highest earners the Reds currently have on their books, which could have a negative knock-on effect.

So great are the finances that would be involved in a potential deal that it is almost certain that Liverpool would have to sell one of their existing front three - though with each of them edging closer to the age of 30, that is perhaps not out of the question entirely.

Caoimhe O'Neill said: "You're going to have to lose one or maybe two players to sign him."

And Sean Bradbury added: "Firmino is the eldest of the three and he's perhaps gone a little bit under the radar for a while - perhaps not now.

"But if you signed him, you'd almost have to replicate how Liverpool play in order to get the best out of him, so I wouldn't say him [as being the most likely of the frontline to depart].

"Mane or Salah? Salah, only because - and this might be doing him a slight disservice - I think he's got the biggest superstar vibe to him.

"He represents his country and even his continent and he's someone who you could see Real Madrid going for."

Many have suggested that Liverpool's newly announced kit deal with Nike will have a positive impact on any potential deal for Mbappe taking place, but that is perhaps more in hope than expectation, with that not necessarily being the case.

The ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent Paul Gorst explained: "PSG are already sponsored by Nike and they're the only team to have the Air Jordan logo, so that's obviously a big agreement.

"I don't think it's as simple as Nike are making Liverpool's kits so they're going to start having a say.

"That is a little exaggerated anyway because they are only kit manufacturors.

"They're the biggest manufacturers in the world but they're not going to start ringing up Michael Edwards to say 'you've got to buy Kylian Mbappe because we're making you're kits'.

"I don't really think it works that way."

As the panel explained, Mbappe wearing a Reds shirt from August is not a hugely likely scenario to take place given the huge factors surrounding any potential deal - but that won't stop fans talking.