Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still chasing AS Monaco left back — report

As one of the best left backs in Europe last season, Monaco's Benjamin Mendy quickly gathered the attentions of top Premier League clubs for this summer’s transfer window. Although Manchester City seemed to be a few steps ahead, they have failed to secure his signing (unlike in the case of Mendy’s teammate Bernardo Silva) and according to L'Equipe (via Sport Witness) that means that Chelsea and Liverpool also remain in pursuit.

With Monaco intent on making the most out of the inevitable dismantling of their young core of players that won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semifinals, they are expected to play hardball with any clubs looking to sign Mendy (or any other player). Only an "exceptional" offer will be enough apparently to convince them to let go of the 22-year-old left back, although the report does not venture a guess as to what that amount might be — others presume it’s at least €50-60m.

One could argue that buying Mendy or even Alex Sandro from Juventus would be a mere luxury given Marcos Alonso's performances over the course of our Premier League-winning campaign, but the Premier League’s arms race is once again in full swing and we do need to make an effort to keep up.