Real Madrid are incredibly confident they will be able to sign Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer, but will wait patiently until the conclusion of the last-16 Champions League ties.
The 23-year-old's contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires come the end of this season, ensuring that Mbappe could join any other club for free, much to the dismay of the French giants.
However, Mbappe's next destination is hardly going to come as a surprise to many, the World Cup winner has long been the subject of interest from Los Blancos, who made several mega-money bids for his services last summer.
While those were all swiftly rejected, Real Madrid are now rumoured to have 'total belief' that Mbappe will be plying his trade at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.
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With that being said, according to Spanish outlet AS, Real will wait until the Champions League round of 16 game against Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain has been played.
The French forward is free to talk to other clubs as well as being able to pen a pre-contractual agreement from January 1, but the fact the two sides will meet in the latter stages of Europe's most elite competition makes things more difficult.
Keen to avoid any accusations of conflicting interest, Madrid are expected to hold fire on announcing they have agreed a deal with the forward until after the game.
The first leg will take place at the Parc Des Princes on February 15, before Mbappe will play at the Bernabeu while donning a PSG kit on March 9.
Mbappe has made very little secret of his desire to pull on the iconic white and gold shirt of Real Madrid, but that has done nothing to alter PSG's stance on the deal while they still have negotiating power.
In response to Real Madrid's bids earlier this year, PSG are rumoured to have offered Mbappe an eye-watering contract, one he clearly has no interest in signing.
"Human bonds are more interesting than money," is all Mbappe had to say when asked about PSG's attempt to keep him courtesy of a mega-money contract offer.
While a number of other big names in the PSG dressing room have underperformed so far this season, Mbappe has shown the kind of form that has won him so many accolades so young.
The France international has bagged nine goals in the league alone this season, eight more than Lionel Messi's paltry tally of just one.
He has a further four strikes in six games in the Champions League, potentially adding to that number against his likely future employers next year.
