Home football Kylian Mbappe returns to Paris Saint-Germain squad for Toulouse clash

Kylian Mbappe returns to Paris Saint-Germain squad for Toulouse clash

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Kylian Mbappe has been named in the Paris Saint-Germain squad for their Ligue 1 clash against Toulouse on Saturday night.

PSG manager Luis Enrique has confirmed that Mbappe is ready to start, after he was left out entirely for their season opener against Lorient last weekend.

The French champions were held to a 0-0 draw on home soil last Saturday, with Enrique naming a brand new front three.

With Lionel Messi already gone, Mbappe banished from the squad and Neymar finalising a move to Al-Hilal, new trio Goncalo Ramos, Marco Asensio and Kang-in Lee started in attack.

Neymar’s move to Saudi Arabia was confirmed just days later, but that was seemingly the catalyst for Mbappe to return to the fold.

Last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer has not featured for PSG since making a 25-minute cameo against Le Havre in the club’s first pre-season friendly of the summer back in mid-July.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique during the match on August 1, 2023

However, Enrique confirmed that Mbappe is set to return to action, saying in preparation for the game: “I am very happy to have a world-class player like Kylian, he is in great shape, he has a lot of desire, a very good state of mind.”

After the relationship between Mbappe and the club broke down, the attacker was dropped from the squad and did not feature in any of their subsequent four warm-up games, as well as their Ligue 1 opener.

The club made Mbappe available for transfer, but the only confirmed bid came from Saudi Arabia, an offer which the player had no interest in entertaining.

After a resolution was found though, Mbappe is back in favour and is set to stay, and could extend his current deal which expires next summer.

Mbappe will look to return in style at a venue in which he has found the net on his last two visits – netting the only goal in a 1-0 in 2019, as well contributing to a comfortable 3-0 win at the Municipal Stadium last August.

After naming a new-look front three, Enrique could welcome another new name into the squad too, with Ousmane Dembele also among the squad which has travelled to Toulouse.

Dembele was not signed in time to feature against Lorient, but he joins Mbappe in linking up with the squad for this weekend’s outing.

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