Liverpool's Pursuit of Bradley Barcola: The Next Salah?

Liverpool’s search for the heir to Mohamed Salah has taken a sharp turn towards Paris – and this time, the door is actually open.

From “untouchable” to available

For months, Bradley Barcola sat in the “don’t even ask” category at Paris Saint-Germain. Internally, he was viewed as one of the club’s protected assets, even as PSG circled RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande and weighed up another reshaping of their attack.

That stance has shifted.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano spelled it out this week: Barcola is no longer considered untouchable. Contract talks have stalled, the extension PSG wanted is on ice, and the 23-year-old now has “serious possibilities” to leave in this window. The winger’s camp, according to TEAMtalk, is actively exploring a move.

That change in tone from Paris has landed like a flare at Anfield.

Liverpool, who already have the France international “at the very top of their shortlist” for 2025, are now being encouraged to move a year early. Both Liverpool and Arsenal have made contact, Romano says, but the level of desire is different. At Arsenal, the priority is Rogers, with Barcola sitting as option number two. At Liverpool, he is the headline name.

Salah succession, not just another winger

Liverpool have already dipped into the wide market this summer, paying around €40m to bring Spain international Victor Munoz from Osasuna. That signing does not close the book on their wing rebuild. It underlines how big the Salah question really is.

Salah is widely expected to leave European football, with strong links to the Saudi Pro League and Major League Soccer. Liverpool know they are not just replacing goals and assists; they are replacing the focal point of their attack, the right-sided threat that has defined an era.

Diomande had been the preferred answer. The Ivory Coast international sat at the top of Liverpool’s list, but the momentum has swung towards PSG, who are pushing to bring him to Ligue 1. That potential move always hinted at a domino effect. If Diomande arrived, PSG would need to balance their books somewhere else in the forward line.

Barcola is now that pressure point.

A green light – with a record-breaking price tag

TEAMtalk report that Liverpool have received a “significant green light” to pursue Barcola, with the player’s side open to a move and PSG ready to listen if no new deal is signed. If Barcola turns down another contract proposal, sources suggest the French champions will “reluctantly consider” a sale.

Reluctant, though, does not mean cheap.

PSG are expected to demand around €150m (£128m, $172m) for Barcola. That figure would smash Liverpool’s own transfer record – the £125m they paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer – and push any deal into British-record territory.

Romano has already warned that it will not simply be about who wants him most, but who can put together the biggest overall package. Wages, fee, structure: the full presentation to PSG and the player will decide it.

Liverpool, then, stand at a familiar crossroads: pay elite money now for a player they believe can carry the attack for years, or walk away and reshape more cautiously.

“A blessing” in disguise?

For former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, missing out on Diomande might actually work in the club’s favour.

Speaking to BetWright, Murphy did not hide his doubts about the Leipzig forward at the prices quoted. “I don’t think they should have been looking at Diomande for the money they were talking about anyway,” he said. “He is a super talent, but that’s all he is: a talent. He’s a prospect.”

Murphy questioned the idea of paying “over £100m for a player who hasn’t a body of work that justifies that money,” and suggested that the collapse of that pursuit “might be a blessing.”

Barcola, he argued, offers something different: proven impact at the highest level. “We’ve seen in the Champions League for the last couple of years now the impact he can have on games, so it’s a less risky signing.”

The price tag from Paris would challenge that logic, but Murphy’s point is clear. If Liverpool are going to spend nine figures, better to do it on someone who has already changed big matches rather than someone projected to do it.

The positional puzzle

There is one tactical wrinkle. Barcola’s best work comes from the left. He can operate on the right, has done so on occasion, but his natural flow, his instinct, pulls him in from the opposite flank.

Murphy flagged that concern as well. “The only thing with Barcola, of course, is he’s more comfortable on the left than the right. He can play on the right on occasion, but really I think someone more used to and suited playing on the right would probably be a better option.”

That question goes to the heart of Liverpool’s planning. Do they want a like-for-like Salah successor, a left-footed right winger who hugs the touchline and cuts inside? Or are they prepared to reshape the front line, tilt the pitch differently, and build around a new profile of wide forward?

With Munoz already in and Barcola under serious consideration, the answer might be leaning towards evolution rather than replication.

A squad at a crossroads

All of this plays out against a broader backdrop. Liverpool have just come off a title-winning campaign and significant spending, yet still find themselves in what Murphy called “an incredible conundrum.”

“The squad needs a bit of reshaping,” he said. The attack, in particular, sits in flux. Salah’s future, Diomande’s likely move elsewhere, the pursuit of Barcola, the arrival of Munoz – each piece hints at a new era but does not yet define it.

Liverpool now have the green light from Paris and encouragement from the player’s camp. They know the price. They know the risk.

The question is simple, and brutal: do they believe Bradley Barcola is worth tearing up their own transfer ceiling for – and are they ready to build the post-Salah Liverpool around him?