Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: More Than Just Barcola and Mbaye
Julien Laurens has warned that Liverpool’s summer rebuild in attack cannot stop at Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye – not while Mohamed Salah is gone and the centre-forward options look so thin.
The Reds are pushing hard in Paris, trying to prise both Barcola and Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain in what would be a huge double move designed to reshape their frontline. Barcola is the headline target, Mbaye the additional piece, but Laurens believes even that ambitious swoop would still leave a glaring hole through the middle.
Speaking on Sky Sports (17:45, Tuesday, August 18), the European football expert stressed that Liverpool are short of a true No.9.
“I still think that until [Hugo] Ekitike comes back from injury – it’s a long one, we’re not sure exactly when it will be – they probably need a back up to Alexander Isak. Especially if Cody Gakpo goes,” he said.
Strip that down and the picture is stark.
“You’re only left really with Isak as your nine,” Laurens continued. “Ok, you could look at [Federico] Chiesa, you could look at maybe other options like a [Dominik] Szoboszlai as a false nine, or Curtis Jones as a false nine.
“But I still think they would need a backup striker there until Ekitike comes back.
“It could be a loan, it could be like the [Ronald] Araujo deal they did for the defence.”
So even with Barcola arriving as a marquee wide forward and Mbaye offering extra depth, Laurens sees a squad still one specialist striker short, at least until Ekitike is fit and available again.
And it doesn’t stop with the front line. He also flagged up concerns in the middle of the pitch, where the current group may not fit the pressing, high-energy style expected under Andoni Iraola.
“Then also that midfield needs a bit of a rebuild, especially for the way Iraola wants to play, very different to Arne Slot. I’m not sure right now this midfield is exactly what he would want.”
Liverpool chase ‘double discount’ in Paris
All of this comes against the backdrop of a complex negotiation with PSG. Barcola is officially valued at a huge £145million, a figure that on its own would make him one of the most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history. Add Mbaye on top and the numbers start to look eye-watering.
Inside Anfield, though, there is a belief that the total outlay can be dragged down. The expectation is that Barcola’s price could fall to around £125million and Mbaye’s to roughly £30million. That would still be a massive £155million package, but significantly less than PSG’s initial stance.
TEAMtalk report that Liverpool officials are already in Paris, working to close the gap in valuations and hammer out terms. The talks are active, but not straightforward. There is still distance between what Liverpool want to pay and what PSG are demanding.
One factor tilting the situation slightly in Liverpool’s favour: both Barcola and Mbaye have been frozen out of the PSG squad while their futures are decided. That kind of stand-off often ends with a sale, and Liverpool know it. The longer the pair remain sidelined, the more pressure builds on the French champions to cash in.
Even so, no one around the deal is pretending it’s close to done. The sense is that progress is being made, but there is no clear indication yet of how near Liverpool are to actually landing either player, let alone both.
And that uncertainty feeds straight back into Laurens’ warning. If Liverpool do pull off the double deal, the sheer size of the investment makes a permanent striker signing almost impossible. At that point, any extra No.9 would almost certainly have to arrive on loan.
Finding a loan striker who is both good enough to contribute and available this late in the window is notoriously difficult. Liverpool may yet get their Parisian double, but if they do, the next question is obvious: who leads the line if Alexander Isak needs a rest, or if that “long” Ekitike injury drags on even further?
