Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: The Potential of Ibrahim Mbaye
Liverpool’s summer was supposed to be a revolution. So far, it’s been more of a careful rebuild.
Yet at Anfield, there’s a growing sense that the pieces are starting to fall into place.
Victor Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet were the first to arrive, steady, sensible additions rather than fireworks. Ronald Aruajo is expected to follow by the end of next week, another brick in a structure Liverpool hope will be strong enough to withstand a new era.
None of them are marquee names. All of them address clear gaps. And now, a far more eye-catching move is edging into view.
Mbaye turns his head towards Anfield
The transfer rumour mill around Liverpool has been relentless. Every few days, a new name is thrown into the conversation, a fresh YouTube compilation dissected, a new “next big thing” debated to exhaustion.
Most links fade as quickly as they appear. Ibrahim Mbaye’s hasn’t.
According to Football Insider, the 18-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger is “keen” on joining Liverpool this summer, despite interest from several other clubs. Bayer Leverkusen are pushing hard to agree terms with PSG. They may suddenly find the door closing.
What has changed? Anfield has entered the room.
Football Insider report that after Liverpool’s interest became public, Mbaye’s “head turned” at the possibility of a move to the Premier League and specifically to the Reds. The teenager now has his “eyes set” on Anfield, with Liverpool preparing an attempt to bring him in after being alerted to his availability.
PSG, for their part, are ready to listen. The French champions have stacked their attacking options. Maghnes Akliouche has arrived, Ferran Torres could follow, and Mbaye is sliding down the pecking order before he has truly established himself.
At 18, that is a dangerous place to be. At Liverpool, it could be an opportunity.
A teenager pitched into a Salah-sized void
Strip away the noise and one problem towers above the rest for Liverpool: how do you replace Mohamed Salah’s goals and influence?
Since 2017, Salah has been the heartbeat of Liverpool’s attack, the reliable source of goals and chaos from the right. His numbers season after season have underpinned everything the club have tried to do in the final third.
Take that away and the question bites hard. Where do those contributions come from now?
There are internal candidates. Players who could, in theory, step up. But last season raised doubts about whether anyone in the current squad can shoulder that responsibility alone.
This is where Mbaye fits into the picture.
The Senegal international is a natural right-winger. Despite his age, he has already played an important role for both PSG and his country during the 2025-26 season. That exposure at the highest level at 18 is not common, and it is exactly the profile that tempts a club planning for the long term.
Liverpool would not be signing him to instantly replicate Salah’s output. That would be unrealistic. The article notes a 22-goal contribution as the benchmark the Egyptian has set; expecting an 18-year-old to hit that in his first season would be fantasy.
But could Mbaye deliver half of that while others around him raise their own numbers? That is the calculation Liverpool appear to be making. Spread the burden. Replace Salah not with one man, but with several.
There will not be another Salah. The club know it. The supporters know it. The solution, then, is not to chase a clone, but to assemble a collective.
Mbaye, if Liverpool can get him out of Paris and into Anfield, might just be one of the first young pillars of that new attacking era.
