Liverpool Agree Terms with PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye Amid Barcola Pursuit
Liverpool’s search for firepower after Mohamed Salah’s exit has taken a sharp twist in Paris.
The Premier League side have agreed terms with Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ibrahim Mbaye, with a five-year deal in place for the Senegalese teenager, according to RMC Sport. FourFourTwo understands the move runs alongside – not instead of – their ongoing pursuit of Bradley Barcola.
Liverpool have been locked on to Barcola since the start of the window, even reaching a contract agreement with the World Cup star. But PSG’s stance over a nine-figure fee has stalled progress and forced the Merseysiders to widen their options.
That’s where Mbaye comes in.
Double track: Barcola still in play, Mbaye deal lined up
Talks for Barcola remain active, with Liverpool still keen to land the headline name from PSG’s attack. At the same time, they have moved decisively for Mbaye, agreeing long-term terms as they prepare for the very real possibility that Barcola proves too expensive to prise away.
Both forwards are understood to be open to a Premier League switch. The route into the first team under Andoni Iraola is seen as more navigable than at PSG, where competition is intense and minutes are tightly rationed in the biggest games.
Liverpool’s recruitment team are effectively running a dual-track strategy: stay in the race for Barcola, but lock in Mbaye now before the market shifts again.
PSG’s crowded attack fuels Liverpool’s move
PSG’s own transfer business has helped create the opening. The French champions have reshaped their forward line this summer, allowing Goncalo Ramos to join Ruben Amorim’s Milan and moving quickly to secure World Cup final hero Ferran Torres and Ajax prospect Mika Godts.
They are reinforcing a model that worked last season. First-choice trio Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele combined for 52 goals in all competitions. Barcola added 13. Mbaye scored three.
Barcola actually featured more than any other PSG attacker across Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Champions League, yet he remained a backup option in Luis Enrique’s biggest matches. Mbaye’s role was even more limited, with both players sitting behind an established hierarchy in attack.
Dembele, a central figure in that structure, started only 10 league games despite his status. PSG’s plan is clear: stack elite depth, rotate heavily domestically and keep their stars fresh for European crunch nights.
For ambitious young forwards, that pecking order leaves little room.
Liverpool’s right flank question
Liverpool’s need is obvious. Salah has gone. So far, only Spanish winger Victor Munoz has arrived to bolster the forward line.
On the left, Iraola is spoiled for choice. Munoz, Rio Ngumoha, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz can all operate off that flank, giving Liverpool a surplus of options cutting in from that side.
The right is different. Mbaye, comfortable operating there, fits a glaring tactical gap and a squad profile that now leans heavily towards left-sided attackers.
Barcola, with his bigger numbers and World Cup profile, remains the marquee target. Mbaye, younger and less proven, offers a different kind of play: a high-upside project who can grow into the role while giving Iraola flexibility across the frontline.
Liverpool have made their move. PSG’s next decision will tell whether Mbaye arrives as the understudy to Barcola – or as the alternative who defines Liverpool’s new era on the right.
