Liverpool's Pursuit of Bradley Barcola: Transfer Update

Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola is moving into its decisive phase, and the numbers are finally starting to look like something they can live with.

The Premier League club want two wingers through the door before the window shuts. One is clear: Barcola, the Paris Saint-Germain forward they have placed at the top of their list. The other is likely to be Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, who is currently ahead of Ibrahim Mbaye in their thinking.

For Barcola, the groundwork is already done on the player side. Personal terms with the France international are in place, and Liverpool’s hierarchy are in daily contact with PSG over the fee and the structure of the deal. This is not a story of agents and intermediaries clogging up the process. It is club-to-club, director-to-director, owner-to-owner.

PSG, crucially, are ready to sell. Barcola, like Mbaye, was left out of the squad for the Ligue 1 opener against Rennes at the weekend, a clear indication of where he sits in their plans.

The price, though, has been the battleground.

When PSG first floated a figure of €170m (£145m), Liverpool simply refused to engage at that level. No posturing, no brinkmanship – just a flat refusal to go anywhere near it. The landscape then shifted. With Ferran Torres, Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche all arriving in Paris, the French champions suddenly had more forwards than minutes to give them.

Reports from multiple outlets indicated the asking price had dipped to around €146m (£125m). On Tuesday morning, insider Graeme Bailey went further, revealing PSG have now trimmed that again to €140m (£119m).

That adjustment has landed well at Anfield. Liverpool have been wary of turning Barcola into the most expensive signing in British football history and loading that weight onto a 23-year-old before he’s even kicked a ball for the club. Alexander Isak’s £125m move still sets the benchmark, and at PSG’s new valuation, that record would survive.

At that level, the mood on Merseyside has shifted from interest to intent.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, underlined just how serious Liverpool now are.

“On Bradley Barcola, guys, I told you since the beginning, it is not going to be €170m,” Romano said. “With all respect for PSG, the feeling of those in the industry has always been that it is never going to be €170m, but it will still be a big amount of money.

“And this is why Liverpool and PSG are having a direct exchange day by day. So, the conversation is continuing behind the scenes.

“I told you the updates, the media updates on this story are not so traditional, like an official bid, this money, accepted, rejected, because this is a direct conversation between directors, between owners.

“So, they are talking in a direct way, Liverpool and PSG, but the deal is alive. Barcola is absolutely, absolutely a deal that Liverpool want to complete in the next few days, and my expectation is absolutely for Liverpool to go very strong for Barcola.

“Then you still need to reach an agreement for PSG to have the ‘Here We Go’. So, that remains the story and Liverpool are going very strong for Bradley Barcola. And then they want one more if Cody Gakpo goes to Tottenham or Man City.”

That last line matters. Liverpool’s winger rebuild is not just about Barcola. If Cody Gakpo does move on, with Tottenham and Manchester City both monitoring the situation, the club intend to add another wide forward on top of the PSG man.

For now, though, all eyes are on that €140m conversation between Anfield and Paris – and whether Liverpool are ready to push it over the line in the final days of the window.