Liverpool close to signing Barcola from PSG

Liverpool’s summer rebuild has taken a serious step towards another statement signing, with a fee now understood to be agreed in principle with Paris Saint‑Germain for Bradley Barcola – while the club also move to the front of the queue for highly rated winger Ibrahim Mbaye.

Liverpool close in on Barcola after tense stand-off

For weeks, Liverpool and PSG have stared each other down over Barcola. The player’s stance has been clear: he will not extend his contract in Paris and wants a fresh start, with Anfield his preferred destination after a breakout campaign and a starring role for France at the 2026 World Cup.

PSG, though, treated him like a crown jewel. Initial briefings from Paris placed his valuation at a staggering €170m, a figure that would have blown apart Liverpool’s carefully controlled wage and fee structure and tested the resolve of Fenway Sports Group.

Liverpool, according to reports in France, set their ceiling at €120m. PSG pushed back, demanding at least €150m. The gap looked too big. The move looked like it might drift.

Then came the breakthrough.

Liverpool-focused outlet DaveocKop now reports that the two clubs have reached an agreement in principle on a fee of around €128m, with add-ons described as more realistic than the earlier, heavier clauses PSG had floated. It is not signed. It is not sealed. But the framework is there.

The contractual side with Barcola has already been described as agreed by L’Equipe, leaving the clubs to thrash out the numbers. With this latest development, that impasse appears to have cracked. Liverpool have inched up. PSG have climbed down. The middle ground is expensive, but it is there.

For Liverpool, it would be a colossal outlay on a 23‑year‑old winger, a figure that would sit alongside the biggest deals in European football. For Barcola, it is the move he has been waiting for – away from the shadow of PSG’s star-studded attack and into a team that see him as a central pillar of their next era.

The caveat remains: this is one outlet’s claim, not yet echoed widely across Europe’s major newsrooms. Until more heavyweight confirmation lands, the deal stays in the “in principle” category. But the direction of travel is clear. Liverpool are pushing hard, and PSG are finally listening.

Mbaye race tilts towards Anfield

While the Barcola saga has dominated headlines, Liverpool have been quietly positioning themselves for another raid on PSG’s attacking options.

Ibrahim Mbaye, long admired around the Bundesliga, has become the next serious target. Fabrizio Romano has detailed the shift in momentum over the past few days, outlining how Liverpool have stepped ahead of their rivals.

“There is genuine interest in Ibrahim Mbaye,” Romano said on The Market Madness on August 6, explaining that Liverpool are now in direct conversation with the player’s new agent, Jorge Mendes. Bayer Leverkusen had pushed hard, but the landscape has changed. Liverpool, Romano says, now lead the race.

His update on X two days earlier painted the same picture: Liverpool have made contact with Mendes, Mbaye has proposals from Bundesliga clubs, but is giving priority to the Liverpool project. A move to RB Leipzig, once close, collapsed after the Diomande‑PSG situation fell apart, reopening the door for the Premier League side.

TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey added further weight on August 6, reporting that Liverpool are in talks with Mbaye’s camp and that the winger is keen on Anfield. That detail matters. In a market where top attacking talent has options everywhere, player preference often decides the final destination.

So Liverpool find themselves in a powerful position on two fronts: an agreement in principle on a huge fee for Barcola, and a leading hand in negotiations for Mbaye.

If both deals advance from talks and “in principle” agreements to signatures and shirt-holding photos, Liverpool’s forward line – already one of Europe’s most feared – could be reshaped again, this time with the kind of young, elite talent that defines a squad for years, not months.

The numbers are eye-watering. The intent is not. This is a club acting like it plans to stay at the sharp end of European football – and daring its rivals to keep up.