Aston Villa Sign Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG for €55m

Aston Villa have struck an agreement in principle with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Ibrahim Mbaye in a €55m (£47m) deal, landing one of Europe’s most coveted teenagers just as their season has started to unravel.

The 18-year-old winger, long tracked by Liverpool, is now set for Villa Park instead. For Liverpool, who had been linked with Mbaye throughout the summer, it is a significant miss. For Villa, it feels like a rescue mission.

Mbaye, already with 42 senior appearances for PSG, is due to undergo his medical on Saturday before signing a five-year contract, with an option for a further year. The plan is clear: drop him straight into a squad that desperately needs an injection of pace, unpredictability and belief.

Villa's Current Situation

Villa’s need could hardly be more obvious. They were hammered 4-0 by Brighton in their Premier League opener, a bruising afternoon capped by Joao Gomes’s red card. One game in, they sit bottom of the 2026-27 table and already look in need of a jolt. Mbaye is being brought in to provide it.

He will join Alejandro Garnacho, who has arrived on loan from Chelsea, as a new option out wide. Two fresh wingers, two big bets that Villa’s season can be dragged back on track from the flanks.

Competition for Mbaye

Villa, though, had to fight to get here. Chelsea and RB Leipzig both made moves for Mbaye in recent days, sensing an opportunity as PSG listened to offers. The French champions initially pushed for close to €70m, a stance that ultimately drove Liverpool away.

According to RMC Sport, Liverpool walked once those early demands climbed towards that figure. They have since turned their attention elsewhere, reshaping their shortlist while Villa closed in on their man.

The Merseyside club have already tested Brighton’s resolve over Yankuba Minteh with bids of £50m and £60m, both rejected. Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has been adamant he wants to keep the winger, but he has also left the door open.

“Rumours. Rumours,” Hurzeler said when asked about the speculation. “Let’s see what happens. Again, another example of a player who benefits from the success of the team.

“He benefits for example from hard work from Pascal [Gross], hard work from Jack Hinshelwood, hard work from all the other players.

“And he knows it. Therefore I also think it’s important to understand as a player what you have here, playing for a club like Brighton.

“You have a club that gives you the chance, you team-mates who are really trying to push you, you have a club that is there for you also in tough moments.

“[New Man United signing] Carlos Baleba had so many tough moments when he was here, Minteh also had tough moments, but we were always there for them, always tried to help them, their team-mates are there for them.

“So I think it’s also important for the players to understand what they have here with this club, how the fans are connected, how we are working together.

“It’s difficult to find a similar environment, or better environment, for potential young players. But the same with Minteh, we were successful as a team, that brings attention on him, so let’s see what happens.

“If you ask me if I’ll try to convince him to stay, yes I try to convince him to stay. But can I control everything? No, I can’t control everything.”

Minteh is currently out with a leg injury but is open to a move to Anfield, with Liverpool also sounding out Crystal Palace over Ismaila Sarr earlier this week.

So Villa get Mbaye. Liverpool move on to Minteh and Sarr. Brighton brace themselves. One teenager leaves Paris for Birmingham with a €55m price tag and a struggling club on his shoulders. The question now is whether Mbaye can turn Villa’s early-season crisis into the start of a very different story.