Liverpool's Pursuit of Bradley Barcola Heats Up
Liverpool’s chase for Bradley Barcola is moving out of the shadows and into the endgame.
The Premier League club want two wingers before the window shuts. One name sits above the rest on their list: Bradley Barcola of PSG. Behind him, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is currently ahead of Ibrahim Mbaye in the race to become the second attacking addition.
With Barcola, Liverpool have already cleared one major hurdle. Personal terms are understood to be in place with the France international, and the dialogue with PSG is constant. Club officials are in daily contact, working through the fee and the structure of the deal.
PSG, for their part, are open to a sale. Barcola and Mbaye were both left out of the squad for the Ligue 1 opener against Rennes, a clear indication of where they stand in the pecking order after a flurry of attacking arrivals.
The numbers around Barcola have been wild. PSG initially planted a flag at an extraordinary €170m (£145m), a figure Liverpool simply were never going to entertain. That stance softened once the French champions brought in Ferran Torres, Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche, with multiple reports indicating the asking price had dropped to around €146m (£125m).
Now it has shifted again.
On Tuesday morning, insider Graeme Bailey was told PSG have reduced their demand further to €140m (£119m). At Anfield, that development has been welcomed. Liverpool do not want to load Barcola with the burden of becoming the most expensive signing in British football history before he has even kicked a ball for the club.
That particular record currently belongs to Alexander Isak at £125m. At PSG’s new valuation, Barcola would fall just short of that mark.
And this is where Fabrizio Romano comes in.
The transfer specialist, speaking on YouTube, underlined that he always expected the price to come down from the original €170m figure.
“On Bradley Barcola, guys, I told you since the beginning, it is not going to be €170m,” Romano said. “With all respect for PSG, the feeling of those in the industry has always been that it is never going to be €170m, but it will still be a big amount of money.
“And this is why Liverpool and PSG are having a direct exchange day by day. So, the conversation is continuing behind the scenes.
“I told you the updates, the media updates on this story are not so traditional, like an official bid, this money, accepted, rejected, because this is a direct conversation between directors, between owners.
“So, they are talking in a direct way, Liverpool and PSG, but the deal is alive. Barcola is absolutely, absolutely a deal that Liverpool want to complete in the next few days, and my expectation is absolutely for Liverpool to go very strong for Barcola.
“Then you still need to reach an agreement for PSG to have the ‘Here We Go’. So, that remains the story and Liverpool are going very strong for Bradley Barcola. And then they want one more if Cody Gakpo goes to Tottenham or Man City.”
So the stage is set. The fee has come down. The player is aligned on personal terms. The clubs are talking at ownership and director level, not through public bids and leaks.
Now it comes down to one question: will Liverpool push this “very strong” interest over the line before the window slams shut, and what kind of attack will they be building if Cody Gakpo does walk out towards Tottenham or Man City?
