Liverpool Targets Barcola as Salah Successor Amid Intense Hunt

Liverpool’s search for a new right‑sided talisman has zeroed in on Paris. Bradley Barcola has moved to the top of the summer shortlist at Anfield, as the club look to fill the vast void left by Mohamed Salah’s departure earlier this summer after nine glittering years on Merseyside.

Salah’s exit by mutual agreement ended an era; now Liverpool are scrambling to shape the next one.

From Diomande to Barcola

The recruitment drive had already been aggressive. Liverpool pushed hard for Ivory Coast teenager Yan Diomande, tabling a bid believed to be around £85 million. RB Leipzig stood firm. That stance now looks like a launchpad to a record sale, with Real Madrid poised to pay in excess of £100m after the World Cup, despite heavy pressure from PSG.

Liverpool then turned to Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche, making an initial approach for the gifted playmaker, who has also attracted multiple bids from PSG. At the same time, they moved decisively in Spain, triggering the £34.5m release clause of Osasuna winger Victor Munoz — their only signing so far as the Andoni Iraola era begins at Anfield.

All of that was groundwork. The main act may be Barcola.

PSG’s price and Liverpool’s line

Reports over the weekend painted the scale of the challenge. PSG are said to be demanding around £145m for the 23‑year‑old, emboldened by the recent inflation at the top of the Premier League market, where Chelsea and Manchester City have paid £117m for Morgan Rogers and £116m for Elliot Anderson respectively.

Liverpool, as ever, will not be bullied on price. The gap between their valuation and PSG’s is understood to be significant. Yet the story has moved on.

Sky Sports report that Liverpool have prepared a first offer for Barcola after preliminary talks with his camp and are now ready to go to PSG with an official proposal. The dance is about to start in earnest.

A restless talent in Paris

The player’s stance is crucial. Barcola is said to be keen to leave the Parc des Princes in this window and has no intention of extending a contract that runs to 2028. The frustration is clear: he has started back‑to‑back Champions League finals on the bench under Luis Enrique, watching rather than defining the biggest nights of PSG’s season.

On the pitch, his numbers last year underline why Liverpool are pushing. Barcola scored 13 goals and supplied seven assists in 49 appearances across all competitions for a PSG side that swept aside domestic opposition. He then carried that form into the World Cup in North America, scoring three times in eight games as France stumbled to a disappointing fourth‑place finish.

Those figures, at 23, scream upside. They also help explain why PSG feel emboldened to ask for a fee that would place him among the most expensive forwards in history.

Liverpool’s gamble

For Liverpool, this is about more than replacing goals. It is about identity. Salah’s consistency, durability and knack for decisive moments became the heartbeat of Jürgen Klopp’s team; now Iraola must build a new attacking hierarchy.

Diomande looks Madrid‑bound. Akliouche remains a possibility. Munoz is already through the door. Yet the clearest signal of Liverpool’s ambition would be prising Barcola away from PSG, out of the shadows of Champions League benches and into the spotlight of the Premier League.

The first bid is coming. The question now is simple: how far will Liverpool go to make Barcola the face of their post‑Salah era?