Liverpool Focus on Barcola and Minteh Amidst Mbaye Stalemate

Liverpool’s summer brief is brutally simple: add elite one-v-one threat out wide and do it quickly.

They have already moved early. Victor Munoz, fresh from lifting the FIFA World Cup with Spain, has arrived from Osasuna in a £34 million deal, a statement signing for a front line that has just lost its most reliable source of chaos and goals.

Mohamed Salah has gone, walking away on a lucrative free to Trabzonspor. That kind of departure leaves a scar. It also leaves a gaping hole on the right.

So Liverpool have gone hunting at the very top of the market.

Barcola the big swing

Richard Hughes has zeroed in on Bradley Barcola, the Paris Saint-Germain winger who PSG value at a staggering £145 million. Liverpool, the reigning 2024/25 Premier League champions, are not about to pay that. The game now is brinkmanship, with the clock ticking towards the September 1 deadline.

The plan is clear: push that fee down, make Barcola the flagship wide signing, then add one more winger to complete the reshaping of the attack.

That “one more” has a name.

Minteh talks intensify

Liverpool’s attention has hardened around Yankuba Minteh. A long-term target, the Gambian winger has already been the subject of two Liverpool bids, worth £50 million and £60 million, according to reports.

Brighton have simply folded their arms.

They want close to £70 million and are showing no interest in blinking first. For now, Liverpool are testing the resolve on the south coast, knowing Minteh fits the brief: direct, aggressive, and ready to run at defenders all day.

The message from inside Anfield circles is that Minteh is now a live, active pursuit, not just a name on a list.

Mbaye deal stalls over PSG demands

While Minteh’s stock rises, another name is slipping off the board.

Ibrahim Mbaye, the 18-year-old PSG winger, has been heavily linked in recent weeks. Reports suggested the Senegal international had already agreed personal terms on a five-year deal at Anfield, a move that would have seen Liverpool pay for pure upside rather than finished product.

That story did not last long.

Club insiders quickly cooled the noise, describing Liverpool’s stance as “exploratory” rather than advanced. Now the numbers have killed it. RMC Sport report that PSG want €70 million (£60 million) to let their homegrown attacker leave.

For a teenager still learning his craft, that is a huge fee. Yes, Mbaye has already collected several titles in Paris, and he prefers to operate off the right, exactly where Salah once dominated. But Liverpool, under Andoni Iraola, need more than promise. They need someone who can walk straight into a title-defending side and deliver from the first whistle.

RMC state that Liverpool have effectively been priced out. Internally, the club are said to value Mbaye at around €50 million (£43 million) and are not willing to go anywhere near PSG’s demand, not even as high as €60 million, despite the French club making it clear he is available this summer with two years left on his deal.

The interest has not completely vanished. According to the same report, Mbaye has agreed terms on a future contract with Liverpool, and the club remain admirers. But admiration is one thing; committing €70 million to a developing winger is another.

For now, the price has turned a warm lead cold.

Iraola wants certainty, not speculation

This is where Iraola’s influence bites. Taking over a champion side, the Basque coach cannot afford passengers. Every signing has to be ready-made, or close to it. Paying top-tier money for a player who might be ready in two or three years simply does not fit the brief.

Liverpool would be buying potential with Mbaye. With Minteh and Barcola, they believe they can buy impact.

And that is shaping the endgame of this window.

Two in, one out of the frame

The emerging blueprint from Liverpool reporters is straightforward: Barcola plus one more winger. Not Barcola, Minteh and Mbaye. Just two.

With Salah gone and Munoz already through the door, the club see a double wide signing as enough to refresh the attack without bloating it.

That makes the picture sharper. Barcola remains the marquee chase. Minteh is the preferred second piece. Mbaye, at PSG’s current valuation, is drifting away from the conversation.

If Brighton crack and PSG climb down, Liverpool will be ready. But as it stands, the champions are drawing their battle lines on value, not hype, and betting that their next wide men will be ready to tear up the Premier League from day one.