Liverpool Targets Bradley Barcola as Diomande Chooses PSG

Liverpool’s search for Mohamed Salah’s heir has taken a sharp turn towards Paris, with the club opening talks for Bradley Barcola after seeing their long-standing pursuit of Yan Diomande stall.

For months, Fenway Sports Group had Diomande earmarked as the marquee replacement for Salah, who will leave Anfield this summer. The RB Leipzig forward, lighting up the 2026 World Cup with Ivory Coast, had been at the centre of Liverpool’s planning. Discussions with his representatives were already under way.

Then the plan hit a wall. Two, in fact.

Leipzig do not want to sell. And the 19-year-old has made clear he favours a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

With Diomande pushing towards the Parc des Princes rather than the Kop, Liverpool have turned their attention to a player already there.

Liverpool knock on PSG’s door

Bradley Barcola, France international and serial trophy-winner with PSG, has now moved to the forefront of Liverpool’s thinking.

Sky Sport Switzerland journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported on June 29 that Liverpool are in direct contact with PSG over Barcola. Posting on X at 12:53pm, he revealed that PSG have already held talks with several clubs, including Liverpool, regarding the winger, adding that Diomande’s transfer “automatically opens the door” to a Barcola exit this summer.

The domino effect is clear. Diomande in. Barcola out.

Liverpool have wasted little time trying to be the ones who catch him.

Fresh contact with Barcola’s camp

TEAMtalk now report that Liverpool have made fresh contact with Barcola’s agents this week. Their sources say the club have spoken again with the 23-year-old’s representatives in recent days and received further encouragement that he is preparing to leave PSG before the transfer window closes.

That stance will only embolden Liverpool. Barcola is not agitating from the fringes of a failing project; he is walking away from a winning machine.

Since joining PSG in 2023, he has collected three Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France triumphs and two Champions League winners’ medals. He is also part of the France squad at the ongoing 2026 World Cup, a stage that tends to harden both reputations and price tags.

And the price is already steep.

A €120m question

According to TEAMtalk, PSG value Barcola at around €120 million (£103.3m). That figure mirrors what the French champions would expect to pay Leipzig for Diomande, underlining how closely the two deals are intertwined.

For Liverpool, the calculation is brutal but simple. If Diomande is heading to Paris and Leipzig refuse to budge, do they push their chips in on Barcola instead and pay Champions League–winner money for a player still shaping his peak years?

The market has set the stakes. Liverpool have made their move.

Now the question is whether Anfield becomes the stage for Barcola’s next act, or just another stop in PSG’s summer trading game.