15.03.2017 12:37 h

Monaco starlet Mbappe grabs Champions League attention

Teenager Kylian Mbappe will be in the spotlight when Monaco take on the mission impossible of overcoming a 5-3 deficit against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Scouts from across Europe have been watching the 18-year-old who has scored 16 goals in 30 matches this season, including one against City in the last-16 first leg.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in particular has highlighted his interest in Mbappe, comparing him to Gunners legend Thierry Henry who also started at Monaco before going to the London club. Wenger gave Henry his debut when coach at Monaco.

"He's a guy who's electric like Thierry was, can dribble, can pass people and is efficient," according to Wenger, who admitted he made an approach for the Monaco starlet last year.

"The talent is similar," Wenger said. "After that, does he have the same level of motivation, desire and intelligence that Thierry had? The next two years will tell us that, but the first signs are very promising."

Wenger said Mbappe decided last year to stay at Monaco who persuaded him to sign a three-year contract that keeps him at the principality until 2019. He has boomed while Monaco have taken top place in the French league race.

Mbappe says he has also turned down offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

Media reports have said Chelsea and Manchester United in England, as well as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Germany are all eyeing the teenager.

"We did not expect such a fast and sudden explosion," said Alessandro Grandesso, a correspondent for Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport which put Mbappe at number five in Europe's most promising young players.

Some experts have warned that Mbappe should not follow in Anthony Martial's footsteps by moving too soon and fading away. Martial's move from Monaco to Manchester United has proved difficult after his explosive start.