Liverpool Pursue PSG Teenager Ibrahim Mbaye for Wing Rebuild

Liverpool have stepped up their search for fresh firepower out wide by exploring a deal for Paris Saint-Germain’s teenage winger Ibrahim Mbaye, with the 18-year-old understood to be keen on a move to Anfield.

The Senegal international, who thrives off the right flank, sits among a cluster of wide targets identified for what Liverpool view as the defining priority of this transfer window: rebuilding the wings after the departure of Mohamed Salah.

A bold bet for the right flank

Mbaye is not a fringe name plucked from obscurity. He is one of PSG’s brightest academy products, a player fast-tracked into senior football when he made his debut in August 2024 at just 16.

Two years on, he has already stepped onto the biggest stage. In Qatar, he etched his name into World Cup history, becoming the youngest African ever to score at the tournament. He struck at 18 years and 143 days in Senegal’s 3-1 defeat to France at the 2026 World Cup – a landmark moment in a losing cause, but a clear sign of his temperament under pressure.

Born and developed in France, Mbaye represented the country at youth level before committing his international future to Senegal, where his senior debut arrived in November 2025. That decision, and his rapid rise, have only sharpened the sense that he is a player on a steep upward curve.

Iraola’s wide blueprint

New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has made no secret internally of where he wants his team’s edge to come from. He wants his wide players to stretch, harass and break games open. His system leans heavily on pace and aggression down the flanks, and recruitment has been shaped around that idea from day one on Merseyside.

Liverpool’s plan is clear: finish the window with five wingers, including one younger option earmarked for development rather than immediate stardom. Mbaye fits that final category perfectly – a raw, high-ceiling talent who could grow behind more established names while still offering something different off the bench.

Victor Munoz has already arrived this summer to bolster the attacking options, yet Liverpool are not close to declaring the job done. The club’s hierarchy wants depth, variety and succession planning all baked into this window.

Barcola on the radar, Mbaye a separate play

Attention has also turned to another PSG wide man, Bradley Barcola. Liverpool hold strong interest in the 21-year-old, whose blend of direct running and creativity has turned heads across Europe. But there is a problem, and it is an expensive one.

PSG value Barcola at around £145m, a figure that makes any deal extremely difficult at this stage. No formal offer has gone in for him, or for Mbaye, but the groundwork has started. Discussions around the conditions of a move for Mbaye show Liverpool are doing their homework early, probing what it would take to prise him away from Paris.

Crucially, Liverpool’s pursuit of Mbaye is understood to be independent of their admiration for Barcola. This is not an either-or scenario on the whiteboard at the recruitment meetings. The club believes it is possible to sign Mbaye and still bring in a more experienced winger if the right opportunity appears.

That dual-track approach underlines the scale of the rebuild. Salah’s exit has not just left a statistical hole; it has forced Liverpool to rethink the entire architecture of their attack.

A window that will define the wings

For now, Mbaye remains a PSG player, a teenager with a growing reputation and a World Cup record to his name. But Liverpool’s intent is unmistakable.

They are not just shopping for a replacement. They are trying to construct a new era of wide play at Anfield – one in which a fearless 18-year-old from Paris, now the youngest African ever to score at a World Cup, could end up being a central figure.