Liverpool Intensifies Pursuit of Barcola as Winger Options Narrow
Liverpool’s search for wide reinforcements is accelerating as the transfer window ticks towards its September 1 close, with the Premier League champions now firmly locked on to Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola as their priority target.
Mohamed Salah’s departure to Trabzonspor on a free has left a glaring hole on the flanks and, up to now, too few reliable options for Andoni Iraola. Sporting director Richard Hughes has been tasked with fixing that imbalance quickly. The clock is loud. So is Liverpool’s intent.
Barcola, the top target
Inside Anfield, there is no mystery about who sits at the top of the list. Barcola is the No. 1 choice. Liverpool have tracked the 23-year-old PSG attacker for some time, with their interest hardening once it became clear that a move for Yan Diomande was off the table.
PSG were initially believed to be holding out for a staggering £145 million fee for the France international. That stance has eased. The expectation now is that a deal could be struck at just over £100m, a figure that brings Liverpool into play and reflects the player’s own preference: Barcola wants Anfield.
For the champions, that alignment of club need, player profile and player desire is rare. It is also why this pursuit has moved to the front of the queue.
Mbaye on the back burner, Minteh in the frame
Liverpool have also explored other winger options. Their interest in PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye is real, but the numbers are not. The Senegal international is available and admired, yet a £60m outlay is not one Hughes is expected to sanction.
Instead, Yankuba Minteh has emerged as a more realistic alternative. The club’s recruitment team are actively in the hunt for the highly rated wide man, seeing him as a different route to bolstering Iraola’s attacking depth if the Barcola deal were to stall.
Right now, though, all roads still lead back to Paris.
PSG freeze out Barcola and Mbaye
The situation in the French capital underlines that. According to RMC Sport, both Barcola and Mbaye have again been left out of the PSG squad for this weekend’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes.
“Although they were present at training on Saturday morning, the two players, who are expected to leave, are not part of the Parisian group to face Rennes on Sunday (8:45pm), RMC Sport has learned,” the report states.
PSG’s logic is simple: protect assets they intend to sell. Any injury now could torpedo major deals in the final stretch of the window, so the pair remain on the outside, training but not involved, waiting for their futures to be resolved.
Mbaye has other options, including strong interest from Bayer Leverkusen. Barcola’s market is different. Arsenal admire him and would like to be in the conversation, but the former Lyon academy product has his sights locked on Liverpool.
Liverpool’s moment to strike
For Barcola, the picture is clear. Frozen out again, omitted from the matchday squad and with no sign that PSG plan to reintegrate him, the message from Paris is unmistakable: he is for sale.
For Liverpool, that creates a narrow but golden window. They are, at this stage, the only serious show in town for the Frenchman. The champions need a winger, the player wants Anfield, and PSG are ready to cash in.
Now it comes down to execution. PSG have made their move. Barcola has made his preference known. The stage is set for Hughes and Liverpool to decide whether they are willing to push this over the line before the window slams shut.
