Liverpool Intensifies Winger Hunt for Barcola Before Deadline
Liverpool’s summer has revolved around one problem: life after Mohamed Salah. With the club icon gone on a free to Trabzonspor, the champions of England are racing the clock to rebuild their wide options before the window shuts on September 1.
Sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola are deep into winger mode. The brief is clear: add pace, goals and one marquee threat from the flank. The name at the top of every internal list is the same.
Barcola, the priority
Bradley Barcola is the No 1 target. That much is understood inside Anfield and across Europe. Liverpool have tracked the 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain attacker for months, especially 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 French champions are now thought to be open to a deal just north of £100m, a figure Liverpool are at least engaging with as they weigh up a major investment in their forward line.
Crucially, Barcola’s preference is a move to Anfield. Arsenal admire him and would like to be in the conversation, but the former Lyon academy product is understood to be focused on Liverpool as his next step.
PSG’s recent squad decisions only sharpen that feeling.
Frozen out in Paris
RMC Sport report that Barcola and fellow winger Ibrahim Mbaye have again been left out of the PSG group 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 outlet states.
The logic is simple: PSG do not want to risk injuries that could derail sales in the current window. Both players trained, neither will play. For Barcola, that is a loud signal. There is no indication of a late reintegration. PSG are acting like a club ready to cash in.
Right now, Liverpool stand out as the leading destination for the Frenchman.
Minteh in, Mbaye out?
Barcola is not the only winger on Liverpool’s radar. The club have also been confirmed to be in the hunt for Yankuba Minteh, who is viewed as an alternative option to PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye.
Mbaye is available and firmly on Liverpool’s scouting lists, but the numbers do not stack up. PSG’s £60m valuation for the Senegal international is not one Hughes is expected to sign off. Interest is real; a deal at that price is not.
Mbaye has other suitors, including Bayer Leverkusen, and his future looks likely to be decided away from Anfield. Barcola’s does not. Right now, Liverpool appear to be the only serious show in town for the 23-year-old.
With Barcola once again frozen out of PSG’s matchday plans and the clock ticking towards September 1, the situation has reached a decisive phase. PSG are pushing towards a sale. The player wants Liverpool.
The rest is down to Hughes and Liverpool’s hierarchy. Do they go all in on the winger they have coveted for months, or risk watching a prime wide talent slip away in the final days of the window?
