Liverpool's Pursuit of Barcola Intensifies Before Deadline
Liverpool’s summer has circled around one problem: life after Mohamed Salah. Salah’s free-transfer exit to Trabzonspor ripped a hole out wide that has yet to be properly patched, and with the window closing on September 1, the clock is starting to bite.
Sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola are now deep in the final stretch of their rebuild, and the priority is clear – wingers, plural, not just one.
Barcola, the headline target
At the top of Liverpool’s list sits Bradley Barcola. That much is no secret inside the market.
The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain attacker has been Liverpool’s No.1 wing target ever since it became clear that a move for Yan Diomande was off the table. Once that door shut, the focus hardened on Barcola.
PSG were initially understood to be holding out for a staggering £145 million fee for the France international. That stance has eased. The French champions are now expected to accept a figure just north of £100m, a number that has dragged the deal from fantasy into the realm of possibility.
Crucially, Barcola’s preference aligns with Liverpool’s ambition. He wants Anfield. Arsenal retain an interest and would like to do a deal, but the former Lyon academy product is fixated on a move to Merseyside.
His current situation in Paris only sharpens that angle.
Frozen out at PSG
Barcola has again been left out of the PSG group for this weekend’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes, alongside fellow winger Ibrahim Mbaye.
“Although they were present at training on Saturday morning, the two players, who are expected to leave, are not part of the Parisian group to face Rennes on Sunday (8:45pm), RMC Sport has learned,” the French outlet reported.
The logic is simple: PSG do not want to risk injuries that could derail significant sales before the window shuts. Barcola is being protected as an asset, not prepared as a starter.
When a player is repeatedly frozen out at this stage of the market, it sends a clear signal. PSG are not planning to reintegrate him. They are preparing to cash in.
Right now, Liverpool look like the only serious landing spot for Barcola. For a club trying to defend a 2024/25 Premier League title and replace Salah’s cutting edge, that alignment of need, opportunity and player will is rare.
Minteh in, Mbaye out?
Barcola is not the only winger on Liverpool’s radar.
The club are also in the hunt for Yankuba Minteh, viewed as an alternative to PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye. Mbaye is available and remains a player of interest, but the numbers do not work in Liverpool’s favour.
A £60m price tag for the Senegal international is highly unlikely to be sanctioned by Hughes. Liverpool want options in wide areas, but not at any cost. That stance effectively cools any serious pursuit of Mbaye and pushes Minteh higher up the list.
Mbaye, like Barcola, has other admirers. Bayer Leverkusen are among the suitors, and his future appears set to be decided away from Anfield.
Barcola’s, though, feels different. PSG are ready to sell. The player wants Liverpool. The champions need a winger who can carry a chunk of Salah’s old burden.
The pieces are lined up. Now it comes down to whether Hughes can turn a long-running chase into the marquee signing that defines Liverpool’s late-window push.
