Ibrahim Mbaye's Future: Liverpool and Manchester City Eyeing PSG Star
Ibrahim Mbaye’s next move is being shaped far from the pitch, but the message from his camp is already clear: he will not be heading to Aston Villa – and his name is now on the desks at Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Paris Saint-Germain teenager, regarded inside the club as one of their most exciting wide prospects, has been quietly put to a select group of Europe’s heavyweights. His representatives have started testing the water with clubs they believe match his ceiling, not just his current status.
Villa were among the first to move. Their interest was real, talks advanced, and a pathway to first‑team football at Villa Park was mapped out. For a lot of young players, that would have been enough.
Not this time.
Those close to Mbaye have come to the conclusion that leaving PSG is the right step for his long‑term development, but only if the destination mirrors what they see as elite potential. The feeling within his entourage is that he belongs at the very top of the game – and that his next club should look and feel like a perennial contender for the biggest prizes.
That belief has driven the strategy. Once Villa’s proposal was explored, Mbaye’s camp pushed back. The Premier League remains the target, but the bar has been set higher: clubs that live in the Champions League, clubs that talk about titles, not just progress.
So the teenager’s name has now been offered to Liverpool and Manchester City in recent days, with sources indicating that both Anfield and the Etihad Stadium have been sounded out as possible landing spots.
There is interest. There is also a catch.
Liverpool’s recruitment team have monitored Mbaye closely during his rise in Paris. He sits within a wider pool of wide forwards being assessed as Richard Hughes reshapes the attack for Andoni Iraola after Mohamed Salah’s departure. The club are scouring Europe for wing options and Mbaye’s profile – young, high upside, technically sharp – fits the type they like to keep on their radar.
City are operating in a similar space. Enzo Maresca wants more attacking depth and the champions have already been busy in this window, refreshing a squad that has dominated English football. Mbaye is viewed as a player with real long‑term upside, someone who could grow inside that environment.
But admiration is not the same as priority.
At Liverpool, the focus remains firmly on Bradley Barcola. The Frenchman sits at the top of their winger shortlist, with other established names across Europe also under close watch. Mbaye, for now, is a secondary option rather than the headline act.
City’s stance mirrors that hierarchy. They acknowledge his talent and potential, but their shortlist is stacked with other attacking targets who are currently ahead of him in the queue. For both clubs, Mbaye is one to track, not one to rush.
Nothing about this situation is fixed, though. Those involved describe it as fluid, and that suits Mbaye’s camp just fine. They are not chasing the fastest escape from PSG; they are hunting what they consider the right sporting project – a club that can offer both a pathway and a stage.
Interest is growing across Europe and more conversations are expected in the coming weeks. The teenager’s future will not be decided by the loudest badge or the biggest promise, but by the clearest route to becoming what his camp insist he can be: one of French football’s next great wingers.
The courtship has started. Now the question is which superclub will decide that waiting on Ibrahim Mbaye is a risk worth taking.
