Liverpool Eyes Bradley Barcola as Salah Replacement

Liverpool’s pursuit of life after Mohamed Salah has taken a sharp turn towards Paris – and towards Bradley Barcola.

The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger, once considered off-limits at the Parc des Princes, has now been pushed firmly into play. The mood music around Barcola has changed, and Liverpool are listening.

From “untouchable” to available

For months, the word out of PSG was clear: Barcola was going nowhere. Then the ground shifted.

Fabrizio Romano spelled it out this week. Until last week, he said, Barcola was “untouchable”. Now, he isn’t. Contract talks between PSG and the player have stalled completely, leaving no agreement in sight and no momentum towards one. The winger suddenly has “serious possibilities” to leave in this window, with PSG prepared to talk – for the right price.

Liverpool and Arsenal have both been on the phone. Romano describes Barcola as being at the very top of Liverpool’s shortlist, a long-standing target earmarked since the 2025 summer window. Arsenal like him too, but he sits behind their first-choice option, Rogers, in their own winger hierarchy.

PSG, for their part, will not roll over. They want “important money” for a player they still value highly, and any club that wants him will need to present a package that satisfies the French champions.

A green light – at a record-breaking price

That is where Liverpool’s interest has intensified.

TEAMtalk report that Barcola’s camp are now actively exploring a move away from PSG, and that Liverpool have effectively been given a “significant green light” to go after him. The door is open, but it is heavily guarded.

PSG are expected to seek around €150 million (£128m, $172m) for the winger. That fee would smash Liverpool’s current transfer record – the £125m they paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer – and would stand as a new British record.

Sources suggest a move to Anfield is becoming an “increasing possibility”. The key trigger could be Barcola’s stance on another contract offer. If he rejects fresh terms, PSG are understood to be ready, albeit reluctantly, to consider a sale.

So Liverpool know the parameters: elite talent, available, but only at a colossal price.

Salah’s shadow and the search for a new spearhead

All of this plays out against the backdrop of Salah’s likely departure. The Egyptian, who has defined an era at Anfield, is strongly linked with moves to the Saudi Pro League or Major League Soccer. Liverpool cannot afford to get this succession plan wrong.

They have already moved once in the wide areas this summer, signing Spain international Victor Munoz from Osasuna for around €40m. Munoz adds depth and competition, but Liverpool want a headline act to anchor the next phase of their attack.

RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande had been that man. The Ivory Coast international sat at the top of Liverpool’s list earlier in the window, but his focus has shifted towards PSG. Ironically, his potential arrival in Paris may be the domino that frees Barcola to leave.

If Diomande ends up in Ligue 1, Liverpool’s gaze may fix more firmly on the French capital.

“A blessing” if Diomande slips away?

Not everyone at Anfield will mourn missing out on Diomande.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes the club could end up better off if they pivot to Barcola instead. Speaking to BetWright, Murphy questioned the logic of paying in excess of £100m for Diomande, a player he describes as a “super talent” but still a prospect without the body of work to justify such a fee.

He called the potential failure to land Diomande “a blessing”, arguing that Liverpool would be avoiding an overpay based largely on potential.

Murphy views Barcola as a less risky proposition. The Frenchman has already shown his impact on big Champions League nights for PSG, and with the Paris club reshaping their squad, he may be closer to surplus than star status there.

There is a caveat. Barcola prefers the left flank. He can operate on the right, but Murphy points out that someone naturally suited to that side might be a cleaner stylistic replacement for Salah. Even so, he sees the attraction: a high-level wide player, battle-tested in Europe, potentially available as PSG juggle their own recruitment.

A reshaping with a heavy price tag

Liverpool’s attack is being rebuilt in real time. Munoz is in. Salah is edging towards the exit. Diomande is drifting towards PSG. Barcola sits in the middle of it all, a hugely expensive solution to a very real problem.

The club’s hierarchy know the scale of the decision. Sanctioning a British-record fee for Barcola would define not just this window, but the next phase of Liverpool’s evolution. Get it right, and they secure a cornerstone for years. Get it wrong, and they lock themselves into an enormous financial commitment at a moment when the squad, as Murphy puts it, “needs a bit of reshaping”.

Liverpool have been here before, weighing risk against reward at the top end of the market. This time, the calculation comes with an added twist: can they really afford not to replace Salah with a player of genuine, game-changing quality?

Barcola may yet become that answer. The question now is simple: how much are Liverpool prepared to pay to find out?