Liverpool Secures Ibrahim Mbaye Amid Barcola Negotiations

Liverpool’s pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola has dominated their summer. Now there’s a twist.

With talks over the World Cup star stalling amid PSG’s insistence on a nine-figure fee, Liverpool have quietly moved for another attacker in the French champions’ ranks – and this one is much closer to the line.

Mbaye deal agreed as Barcola chase continues

RMC Sport report that Liverpool have agreed terms with Ibrahim Mbaye, the highly rated Senegalese teenager on PSG’s books. A five-year deal is in place, with the Reds pushing ahead on a transfer even as negotiations for Barcola remain active.

FourFourTwo understands Liverpool already have a contract agreed with Barcola as well, but the club are wary of being held to ransom. The fear of walking away empty-handed has forced them to widen the net within Luis Enrique’s squad.

So Liverpool now have two parallel tracks: Barcola, the marquee target, and Mbaye, the emerging option who could arrive regardless of how the bigger saga ends.

PSG reload in attack

PSG’s own reshaping up front has created the opening.

The French champions have sanctioned Goncalo Ramos’s move to Ruben Amorim’s Milan, then accelerated late-window deals for World Cup final hero Ferran Torres and Ajax prospect Mika Godts. It is a churn designed to stack quality and depth around an already potent frontline.

Last season, first-choice trio Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele combined for 52 goals in all competitions. Barcola added 13. Mbaye chipped in with three.

Barcola actually featured more than any other attacker across Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Champions League, yet he remained a rotation piece, used to support a clear hierarchy in the biggest matches. Mbaye sat even further back in the pecking order.

Luis Enrique’s approach was ruthless: Dembele, a central figure, started only 10 league games as PSG managed minutes and preserved legs for decisive European nights. This summer’s business has doubled down on that model, loading the squad with options rather than guarantees.

Premier League pull for Barcola and Mbaye

Against that backdrop, both Barcola and Mbaye are open to a Premier League switch. The path to regular starts looks less congested in England, and the project at Anfield under Andoni Iraola offers a clearer route to prominence than life as a perennial understudy in Paris.

Liverpool’s need is obvious. Mohamed Salah, a modern club legend, has gone. The only attacking reinforcement so far is Spanish winger Victor Munoz, a talented addition but not a like-for-like replacement for the volume and reliability Salah provided on the right.

Right flank vacancy draws Mbaye

On the left, Liverpool are crowded. Munoz, Rio Ngumoha, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz can all operate from that side, giving Iraola a wealth of options cutting in from the flank.

The right is a different story. That’s where Mbaye comes into focus.

Seen as a potential solution on Salah’s old corridor, the Senegalese youngster offers Liverpool something they currently lack: a natural right-sided attacker to grow into a major role rather than merely cover one.

Barcola remains the headline chase. Mbaye, though, might be the deal that actually lands first – and shapes the next version of Liverpool’s front line.