Liverpool Strike Terms with PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye Amid Barcola Chase
Liverpool’s summer-long pursuit of Bradley Barcola has taken a twist – and it now involves his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye.
The Premier League side have been locked in talks for weeks over Barcola, the World Cup star who has been one of the headline names of this window. But with PSG holding out for a nine-figure fee and negotiations dragging, Liverpool are looking at a second door into the French champions’ attack.
FourFourTwo understands Liverpool already have a contract agreed with Barcola. Even so, the club are wary of being left with nothing if PSG refuse to budge. That concern has pushed them towards Mbaye.
Mbaye deal in place as Liverpool cover themselves
RMC Sport report that Liverpool have now agreed terms with Mbaye on a five-year deal, striking an agreement with the highly rated Senegalese teenager while talks over Barcola continue.
The message is clear: Liverpool want Barcola, but they are not prepared to gamble their entire attacking rebuild on PSG’s valuation. Mbaye is no mere fallback, either. The club are pressing ahead with a move for him in parallel, giving themselves two live options from the same dressing room.
Both Barcola and Mbaye are understood to be open to a Premier League switch. The route to regular minutes under Andoni Iraola is seen as more realistic than fighting through PSG’s crowded front line, where competition has only intensified this summer.
PSG reload up front
PSG’s own transfer work has set the backdrop to this story. The French champions have reshaped their attack again, allowing Goncalo Ramos to leave for Ruben Amorim’s Milan and moving quickly to bring in World Cup final hero Ferran Torres and Ajax prospect Mika Godts.
Last season, Luis Enrique leaned heavily on his preferred trio. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele delivered 52 goals in all competitions between them. Barcola added 13, while Mbaye scored three.
Barcola actually made more appearances across Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Champions League than any other PSG forward, yet he and Mbaye still lived largely in the shadows of Enrique’s first-choice formula. They were rotation weapons, not guaranteed starters, even as Dembele himself began only 10 league games for the eventual champions.
PSG’s response this window has been to double down on depth, stockpiling attacking options to keep their stars fresh for the defining nights in Europe. That strategy, though, has opened the door for Liverpool.
Life after Salah – and a new right-sided option
At Anfield, the need is obvious. Mohamed Salah has gone, leaving a hole on the right that cannot be patched by sentiment or system alone.
So far, Liverpool have only added Spanish winger Victor Munoz to their forward line. The left side, by contrast, is crowded. Munoz, Rio Ngumoha, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz can all operate from that flank, giving Iraola an overload of options cutting in from the left.
The right is a different story. That is where Mbaye fits. While Barcola has been the marquee target, Mbaye offers a potential long-term solution on the opposite wing, a profile that aligns directly with the vacancy Salah’s departure has created.
Liverpool now stand at an intriguing juncture: one contract agreed with Barcola, another lined up with Mbaye, and a PSG hierarchy still holding firm on price.
Whether the Reds emerge from this window with one of them, both of them, or neither will say plenty about how ruthless this new era at Anfield really intends to be.
