Kylian Mbappe 'Assured' Monaco Won't Sell Thomas Lemar, Fabinho and Others

Monaco have reportedly "assured" Kylian Mbappe that Tiemoue Bakayoko will be the last of their key players sold this summer. 

The French champions have already lost Bernardo Silva to Manchester City, while Valere Germain has joined Marseille.

A string of their stars, including Mbappe himself, have been tipped to leave the Stade Louis II, but Bakayoko's move to Chelsea will be the last major outgoing, according to Le Parisien (h/t Get French Football News):

As noted by Get French Football News, if the report is to be believed, Monaco will keep hold of Benjamin Mendy, Thomas Lemar and Fabinho.

According to L'Equipe (h/t Sport Witness) Lemar is being courted by Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, although City, Manchester United and Chelsea are also said to be considering a move for the player.

RMC Sport (h/t Metro) has stated that Fabinho is a target for Paris Saint-Germain and United in the window. His fellow midfielder, Bakayoko, is said to be close to completing a switch to the Blues, per Simon Stone of BBC Sport.

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Although plenty of speculation has engulfed Monaco this summer, the one player they will be desperate to keep hold of is Mbappe. According to Chris Bascombe of the Daily Telegraph, Real Madrid want to sign him, as do Arsenal and Liverpool.

Showing the 18-year-old that the club is willing to build on last season's success is certainly one way of potentially convincing him to stick around. Bayern Munich US' Cristian Nyari wants to see this group stay intact:

If they can keep the likes of Mbappe, Lemar, Mendy and Fabinho out of the clutches of other clubs from around the continent, the future will be bright for Monaco.

After all, this is a team that made an unexpected surge to the top of the Ligue 1 table. It was a transformation that allowed Monaco to make it far into the UEFA Champions League, as they were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals.

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What's most exciting about the group, provided they remain intact, is the age of some of the players mentioned. Per Scouted Football, so many men under the age of 23 had a massive part to play in Monaco's success:

Mbappe is arguably the crown jewel, though, and despite his tender years, you sense his signature will be pursued most vigorously by giants of the European game.

Should Monaco make a commitment to building again this summer, there's more reason for Mbappe to remain where he is, especially given he's still in the infancy of what should be a long career. But for a club that has sold for big money and reinvested so well in the past, there will always be a temptation to take a lucrative offer should it arrive.