Liverpool Target Barcola and Minteh Amidst PSG's Demands for Mbaye
Liverpool’s wide rebuild is accelerating, but not in the direction Paris Saint-Germain might have hoped.
The Anfield hierarchy have opened negotiations with PSG for both Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola and already have personal terms in place with the pair. Yet the mood around the deal is clear: Barcola is the priority, Mbaye the complication, and Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is suddenly pushing his way to the front of the queue.
PSG’s price war
Mbaye and Barcola are both ready to quit PSG after the Champions League holders flooded their forward line with fresh faces, bringing in Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts to add to an already packed attack.
That squad depth has not translated into discounts.
PSG are demanding between £43m and £50m for Mbaye. Liverpool value him far lower, closer to £30m, and are refusing to be dragged into a bidding war for a secondary target.
Barcola’s numbers are even more eye-watering. PSG initially slapped a €170m valuation on the France international and then trimmed it to €145m before dropping again to €125m. Liverpool have responded with an offer of €115m (around £98m) and are prepared to climb towards €120m to get it over the line.
On RMC Sport’s After Foot podcast, respected journalist Fabrice Hawkins lifted the lid on the state of play, while refusing to disclose the exact Mbaye figure PSG are pushing.
“I don’t dare say the price being asked by Paris Saint-Germain, firstly because I haven’t had confirmation, and when I do get confirmation, I will write it,” he said.
What he did make clear is that Mbaye already has a contractual agreement with Liverpool. The problem is club-to-club, not player-to-club.
Barcola the headline act
For Liverpool, Barcola is the main event.
“LFC are already negotiating for Barcola, who is their top priority, they really want to make it happen and I said, I think it’s going to go through,” Hawkins explained. “That’s the feeling amongst everyone in the deal.”
PSG have long known where Barcola stands.
“Bradley Barcola wants to join Liverpool. PSG were informed earlier of his desire, and it was accepted,” Hawkins added. “There’s no intention to keep Bradley Barcola.”
The only battle left is over the fee. Hawkins revealed that Liverpool have made several verbal offers and are now weighing up a decisive written bid.
“The sticking point has been the valuation, where they started at €170m,” he said. “Liverpool have made different verbal offers. They’ve made offers since the verbal one, but there hasn’t been a written offer yet because, at this level, I think the next written offer will be the one that gets it done.
“We’ve understood that it would be somewhere between €130m and €150m, but in any case, it won’t be below €120m for Bradley Barcola. Everyone involved in this deal thinks there will be an agreement.”
So while Barcola edges closer to Anfield, Mbaye’s path looks far less straightforward.
“Secondly, there’s Ibrahim Mbaye, but PSG are asking for a substantial fee, and at the moment Liverpool aren’t ready to accept that,” Hawkins said. “Whilst they’re sitting down negotiating with Barcola, they’re saying ‘we will negotiate, we will find common ground’. For Ibrahim Mbaye, it’s a little bit more problematic, but negotiations are still ongoing.”
Minteh move reshapes the plan
Just as Mbaye’s valuation began to bite, another winger has surged into Liverpool’s thinking.
According to Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, Liverpool have now decided to prioritise a move for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh over Mbaye. The club have already seen a £50m bid rejected but are preparing a new offer as they test Brighton’s resolve.
The strategy is becoming clear. Barcola remains the marquee target on the flanks, with Minteh viewed as the other key piece in a revamped wide department. Mbaye, despite his agreement on personal terms, risks being squeezed by the numbers.
We revealed on Thursday that Barcola is still Liverpool’s top winger option even as talks for Minteh progress. Ideally, Liverpool want both Barcola and Minteh through the door to transform their options out wide in a single window.
If they pull it off, PSG’s hardline stance on Mbaye may matter far more in Paris than it does on Merseyside.
