Liverpool Pursue PSG Stars Barcola and Mbaye with New Bids
Liverpool have gone back to Paris Saint-Germain with fresh bids for Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola as they continue an aggressive rebuild of their squad this summer.
The Anfield club have already moved decisively in the market, landing centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais for £55m, Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona. Defence and wide areas have clearly been the priority. Now the focus has narrowed on two names.
Barcola has sat near the top of Liverpool’s attacking shortlist for months. Negotiations have been running in the background as the club try to chip away at PSG’s valuation, and the pursuit has never really cooled.
Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano underlined that point on his YouTube channel last week, stressing that Barcola’s situation “remains absolutely linked to Liverpool” and that the club “want Barcola” and are “still trying” to strike a deal. According to Romano, Liverpool have already reached a financial agreement with the player and are locked in talks with PSG as they attempt to bridge the gap over the fee. In his words, “the deal is alive”.
The numbers are huge. PSG are understood to want around £130m for Barcola and a further £42m for Mbaye. A combined £172m price tag would test any club’s resolve, even one as ambitious as Liverpool under their new regime.
Yet the Merseyside side have not walked away. A prominent X account with more than 700,000 followers and a self-described team of “five elite reporters” claimed on Monday evening that Liverpool “drop a double bomb” with “fresh new bids” for both Barcola and Mbaye, adding that sources believe the Reds are confident on Barcola and “quietly hopeful” on Mbaye.
In Paris, the mood music has been telling. Luis Enrique has not named Barcola or Mbaye in his squad, leaving both out of PSG’s Trophée des Champions defeat to Lens on Sunday. The head coach declined to go into detail, saying only: “I’ll talk about the situation after the transfer window has passed.”
His broader comments over the weekend hinted at a hard-line stance on players whose commitment is not absolute. “We are a very young, very ambitious team,” Enrique said. “It is important for us to make changes and look for players who enjoy playing our way and who love playing for PSG. When a player doesn’t want to come here, or doesn’t have a smile on their face about being here, it is better to find another solution.”
That “other solution” may now lie on Merseyside if Liverpool can find a way through the numbers.
The strategy from Anfield is clear: reshape the spine and refresh the wings in one window, even if it means taking on some of the most powerful negotiators in Europe. They have already paid premium prices for Jacquet and Munoz and persuaded Barcelona to part with Araujo on loan. Barcola and Mbaye would turn a strong window into a statement.
The question is whether Liverpool will go high enough to crack PSG’s resolve, or whether the French champions will decide that, for the right price, even “untouchable” players can be moved on.
