Liverpool's Search for Attacking Options: Mbaye, Barcola, and Alternatives

Liverpool’s search for one more attacking spark is running straight through Ligue 1 – but not quite in the way it first appeared.

Early noise suggested a bold double swoop on Paris Saint-Germain, with both Mbaye and Barcola painted as live options. The reality, according to French journalist Romain Molina, is more nuanced. Liverpool like Mbaye. They are watching him. But he is not at the top of their list.

“Truthfully, Mbaye is on Liverpool’s shortlist but not as the No. 1 choice,” Molina explained, lifting the lid on the state of play as the window enters its frantic final stretch.

Mendes’ game vs Liverpool’s plan

The tug of war around Mbaye is not just about talent or price. It is about agency power.

Molina underlined that Mbaye’s next move could hinge less on Liverpool’s desire and more on the strategy of his agent, Jorge Mendes. The super-agent is once again trying to shape the market.

“Mendes knows very well that at the end of the transfer window there will something for Mbaye, so he will use the clubs where he has the most influence to make things move,” Molina said.

That influence, he stressed, does not necessarily run through Anfield this time. Liverpool’s interest is real, but Mendes is not driving the deal in the way he has with other clients, especially with PSG demanding a hefty fee.

“That’s not where he’s most influential, especially with the price currently being asked by Paris Saint-Germain,” Molina noted.

Barcola the priority

While Mbaye’s name circles the rumour mill, Barcola’s sits closer to the centre of Liverpool’s thinking.

The Reds are understood to be prioritising a move for the winger, whose representation operates in a very different way to Mendes. Barcola is handled by Moussa Sissoko, and Molina drew a sharp line between the two agents’ methods.

“That’s where you see the difference between the two agents,” he said. “For Mendes it’s not so much the player’s wishes that count, it’s where he has connections with the executives to make things move how he wants. With [Sissoko] it’s the opposite. Even if it means clashing with clubs, even if it means going hard. He wants to go to war for his players.”

The contrast matters. In one corner, a power broker leveraging networks. In the other, a representative pushing aggressively for his client’s preferred destination. Liverpool find themselves navigating both worlds while trying to keep their own financial structure intact.

Financial reality bites

A double raid on PSG would be a headline-maker and an instant jolt of excitement for Liverpool supporters. The numbers are sobering.

The French champions are expected to demand a combined fee in excess of £150m for the two youngsters. For a club that has tightened its spending profile in recent windows, that level of outlay for a pair of largely unproven forwards represents a serious gamble.

Molina’s suggestion is clear: Mbaye is under consideration, but the finances involved could easily push Liverpool towards a different, as yet unnamed, target if PSG refuse to budge.

Alternatives on the board

Liverpool have not put all their eggs in the Paris basket. Their recruitment department has laid out a wider map of options for the wide areas.

• Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is being tracked.
• So is Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
• Bournemouth’s Rayan has also been flagged as a potential solution, each player offering a different profile but fitting the same brief: young, wide, and with scope to grow inside a demanding system.

Another name has entered the conversation in recent weeks: Köln’s Said El Mala. The forward brings versatility, comfortable on either flank or through the middle, and had previously been linked with Borussia Dortmund.

That path appears to have cleared. Reports from Sky Germany state that Dortmund have now stepped away from the race, leaving Liverpool as a possible contender if they choose to act on his reported €50m (£42.7m) release clause.

The option is there. The question is whether they see him as the right fit at that price in this window.

Clock ticking at Anfield

As the deadline looms, Liverpool are juggling profile, price, and politics. Mbaye is admired but not essential. Barcola is a stronger priority but comes with a PSG premium. El Mala and the Premier League-based options sit in the wings, ready if the Paris numbers stay sky-high.

The plan is clear enough: secure one more attacker who can stretch the pitch and refresh the front line without blowing up the budget.

What is not clear, with days slipping away, is which name will be on the contract when the window finally slams shut.