Luis Enrique believes Kylian Mbappe can continue to develop at Paris St Germain as the forward prepares to face Metz on his birthday.
Wednesday’s Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes coincidences with Mbappe’s 25th birthday, with the France international having already hit 16 league goals in 15 games this season.
Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in France’s World Cup final defeat to Argentina, has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced last week suggesting Mbappe’s relationship with Enrique has soured – but the Spaniard insists he wants to see the former Monaco man continue to make waves in Paris.
“Kylian is still very young at 25,” he told reporters at his press conference ahead of the visit of Metz.
“He is the age of my son which is quite something. I hope that Kylian Mbappe achieves so much more success both collectively and individually.
“We hope that will be here at PSG and we hope to help him develop.
“Of course, he is at a fantastic level and I’ve had the chance to get to know him as a person. So I am very lucky to have a player like him in my squad.
“With everything he brings, his individual statistics, he is impressive. He is at the top of world football”
PSG lead the way in Ligue 1, while Metz sit just three points clear of the relegation zone following their return to the top flight.
Despite the gap, Enrique is not expecting an easy night against Laszlo Boloni’s side.
“It will be a really difficult game,” he said.
“They will leave us with very little spaces to attack. We will need to be very precise and accurate to exploit those spaces.”
Enrique took charge in the French capital in the summer and has enjoyed his first half-season coaching in Ligue 1.
“I’m very pleased with the first half of the season in terms of results,” he added.
“Sometimes there were points when we weren’t so good but we are top of Ligue 1 and we hope to stay there.
“It is just the beginning, the most difficult part is still to be done in the second half of the season.”
PSG will be without Ousmane Dembele for the game, the winger sitting out as a precaution over a potential hamstring injury.