Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim has stated his desire to keep Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho at the Stade Louis II this summer but admitted he couldn’t guarantee their stay.

Monaco have certainly had an interesting summer so far. Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Benjamin Mendy, all key players in the club’s title-winning season, have all left, and the speculation surrounding the futures of Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho never seems to stop.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with both Lemar and Mbappe, although the Gunners are focusing almost entirely on the former at the moment. Monaco have insisted that neither player is for sale, a sentiment that manager Leonardo Jardim has backed-up.

“All the players who were important last season are important to keep for the club,” Jardim said,” Jardim said, reports the Express.
“But it has been showed over the years that it’s not always possible to keep the players, and you know how our project works. So our goal is to work well with players who will stay here after the transfer window closes.”

So far, Monaco have shown that they’ll sell anyone so long as the price is right. Arsenal’s own pursuit of Lemar is reportedly being held up by the Ligue 1 champions demanding an over-the-top fee for him.

However, it’s also possible that Monaco really will shut-up shop now to prevent any further damage to the team. As the start of the season draws closer, they’ll be very reluctant to lose any more top stars, especially as it may be difficult to secure replacements at this late stage.