Kylian Mbappe is a special talent.

In the past few years, the Frenchman has quickly emerged into one of the most frightening strikers in world football.

It has been a meteoric rise for the 18-year-old, who made his debut for Monaco in 2015 at the age of 16; in the process becoming the youngest ever first team player for the club.

After a quiet first year, Mbappe announced his name to the world with a string of spectacular performances last season .

Despite his age, Mbappe managed to score 26 goals in 44 appearances for Monaco.

He proved a pivotal figure up front as his side ousted PSG to the French title, and he also scored a number of crucial goals in Monaco's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

As a result he became one of the hottest properties in world football; and he is set to become the world's second most expensive player in history next summer when PSG are obliged to pay around €170 million to make his loan deal permanent.

However, the youngster's early career could have been very different.

In fact, Mbappe could have spent his opening years of professional football playing in Germany.

According to RB Leipzig's sporting director Ralf Rangnick, the German club could have made one of the biggest coups in recent history by signing the then 16-year-old - when they were just a Bundesliga 2 side.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, per The Sun, Rangnick said: "We almost signed Mbappe. The problem was back then we just separated from our coach Alexander Zorniger.

"It was shortly after the winter break 2015, so at that moment we didn't know who our next manager would be and how everything would continue.

"Kylian's father said to me that if I could say for sure that I would become the new manager, he would entrust his son to me immediately.

"But in February [2015] I could not give him that promise yet."

In a similar fashion to Mbappe, RB Leipzig have also risen to the pinnacle of world football in recent years.

The German club's policy of recruiting young stars has proven a masterstroke; with a youthful side featuring the likes of Naby Keita and Timo Werner helping guide the club to a miraculous second place finish last year.

However, if RB Leipzig managed to secure the signing of Kylian Mbappe before he made a name for himself at Monaco, it could have been even better for the club.