Keita Balde has stressed he is not arriving at Monaco as a direct replacement for Kylian Mbappe and hopes to be judged on his own qualities rather than being compared to their former star.
Keita swapped Lazio for Ligue 1 in the closing days of the transfer window for a reported fee of €30million, the Senegal international signing a five-year contract.
The 22-year-old, a product of Barcelona's La Masia academy, enjoyed a prosperous four years in Rome before moving to Monaco – snubbing advances from Juventus and Inter.
He arrived at Stade Louis II in the days before Mbappe's protracted departure for Paris Saint-Germain, but insists he is not there to fill the void left by the 18-year-old.
GhezzalSeptember 7, 2017
"I do not know Kylian Mbappe personally but I know he is a very good player," the forward said at media conference on Thursday.
"I am not here to replace him. He has his style of play and I have mine."
Keita could make his Monaco debut this weekend when Leonardo Jardim's side travel to neighbours Nice on Saturday.
‘He instantly popped into our ratings as one of the best U21 midfielders in Europe. The impressive thing is Slot has made him into more of a no.6' Inside Ryan Gravenberch's transformation at Liverpool
‘I don’t think Liverpool would look at Ollie Watkins, a striker isn’t a pressing issue for them – it’s Arsenal who need one’ Former Reds star explains why his old club don’t need an out-and-out forward this summer
