The imminent transfer of France sensational captain Kylian Mbappe has been a subject of speculation after Paris Saint-Germain left out the 24-year-old out of their Asian pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.

National Daily has therefore learnt that the French champions could intensify effort to cash on the World Cup winner after recently declaring that they don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free.

The French giant’s president issued an ultimatum to Mbappe earlier in the transfer window, telling him it is ‘impossible’ he will leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

‘My position is very clear, I don’t want to repeat it every time,’ he said. ‘If Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay, but he needs to sign a new contract.

‘We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free; we can’t do that. This is a French club. He said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it’s not my fault.’

Following the latest development, PSG will expect a range of suitors to enter the race to sign Kylian Mbappe and are braced for an approach Chelsea.

Speculation that Mbappe will leave the French champions has intensified after he was left out of their squad for the pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.

The Times report that Paris Saint-Germain will advance their efforts to sell Mbappe next week and expect a range of suitors to express interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia to Premier League side Chelsea.

Chelsea have spent more than £600m on new signings over the past 12 months but are still looking to reinforce Mauricio Pochettino’s squad at Stamford Bridge after offloading several players this summer.

Mbappe has scored 212 goals in 260 games for PSG since joining the club in 2017 in a deal worth £165m – the second-most expensive transfer in history.

Paris Saint-Germain face losing global superstars Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the same transfer window after the Barcelona legend joined MLS club Inter Miami.

Meanwhile, the Ligue 1 champions are already weighing up their options to replace Mbappe, expressing interest in Tottenham captain Harry Kane, Napoli ace Victor Osimhen and Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic.