Liverpool close in on Barcola as Gakpo sale looms
Liverpool’s summer, already a tangle of needs and numbers, has found its latest thread in Paris.
Bradley Barcola is now expected to leave Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool are right in the middle of it. Positive talks with PSG have pushed the move forward, with club insiders in France increasingly resigned to losing the winger before the window shuts. The problem? The price. The Qatari-owned club want well over £110m for the France international.
Liverpool have not walked away. Far from it. They have already had two bids rejected for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh as they hunt for wide reinforcements, and Barcola remains the priority target. To make the numbers work, they may need to sacrifice a current starter.
Cody Gakpo is the obvious pressure point. Manchester City are interested, Tottenham have been linked and a sale of the Dutchman could unlock the funds for Barcola in what is starting to resemble a transfer-chain market. One elite forward out, one elite forward in. The calculation is simple; the consequences are not.
Liverpool’s six-leak boat
Behind the scenes at Anfield, the stakes are clear. Liverpool’s football hierarchy, led by Richard Hughes, go into their customary early-September review knowing one thing: the squad has to be bigger.
They are thin. Lopsided. Ambitious football under Andoni Iraola demands depth and variety, and right now Liverpool are short on both. The budget is finite, the gaps are not. As one source frames it, “it’s like they’re in a boat with six different leaks but which one do you plug?” Spend big on a winger and they risk leaving other areas exposed; spread the money around and they may end up with compromises everywhere.
That is the tension running through every call on Barcola, Minteh and Gakpo. Liverpool need reinforcements. They also need a coherent squad by the time that September meeting rolls around.
Arsenal circle Alvarez to crown title defence plan
Across the divide, Arsenal are trying to land a statement signing of their own.
Julian Alvarez is the man they want to cap a summer aimed not at chasing the Premier League title, but defending it. The Atletico Madrid forward initially leaned towards Barcelona, yet he is now said to be open to a move to north London as Arsenal look to sharpen their forward line.
Alvarez would arrive as a ready-made, high-intensity attacker for a team that already presses as hard as anyone in the division. Arsenal see him as the final piece of a front-line puzzle that must withstand the strain of another title race and a deep European campaign.
His future is tied into another domino: Atletico Madrid’s search for a replacement. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson has emerged as a live option, with talks over a loan that could include an obligation to buy. Chelsea would prefer a straight sale and are discussing a £65m deal with Aston Villa as well. If Atletico secure Jackson, Alvarez’s exit becomes significantly smoother – and Arsenal’s chances improve.
City rip up the midfield and cash in on Savinho
Manchester City, meanwhile, are tearing up and rebuilding the centre of their team.
They have agreed a €100m deal with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18-year-old midfielder who will become the third most expensive signing in the club’s history. City will pay an initial €95m, with another €5m in add-ons, as they continue a sweeping overhaul in Enzo Maresca’s first summer in charge.
Bouaddi joins a revamped midfield already headlined by £116m signing Elliot Anderson. Only Anderson and Jack Grealish have ever cost City more. The need is obvious: Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders have all departed, leaving a gaping hole in the core of the side that dominated English football for years.
At the same time, City have sanctioned a record sale. Savinho has joined Tottenham in a deal worth £85m, taking Spurs’ summer spending beyond the £300m mark. City will receive £75m up front, with £5m of guaranteed add-ons and a possible further £5m. The Brazilian becomes City’s most lucrative outgoing, surpassing the £82m they banked for Julian Alvarez’s move to Atletico two years ago.
City’s business may not be done. They remain keen on Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and could yet revive interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, a move that would instantly redefine the scale of this summer’s window.
Newcastle find their Bruno replacement
Further north, Newcastle have finally moved to plug the biggest gap in their midfield.
They have agreed a £52m deal with Manchester City for Nico Gonzalez, who is set to become their marquee signing of the summer. The 2025 Carabao Cup winners will pay £48m initially, with £4m in add-ons, handing City a small profit on a player they bought from Porto for £49m in January 2025.
At just 24, Gonzalez will still be the oldest arrival of Newcastle’s window, a deliberate shift after the exits of captain Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. Experience has become a priority, and Gonzalez is being brought in to steady a midfield that has lost its heartbeat.
He is undergoing a medical today, with Newcastle eager to close the deal and move on to the next piece of their rebuild.
Chelsea cash in and clear the decks
Chelsea’s churn shows no sign of slowing.
Nottingham Forest have agreed a club-record £50m fee for striker Liam Delap. Signed for £30m from Ipswich, Delap struggled badly in his first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring just two goals in 41 appearances. Yet Chelsea will still walk away with a £20m profit and a significant wage off the books. The 23-year-old is expected to complete his medical on Wednesday.
Nicolas Jackson is another forward who could be on his way out. Atletico Madrid have spoken to Chelsea about a loan with a possible obligation to buy, while Aston Villa are considering a £65m permanent deal. Chelsea, keen to trim their squad, would prefer a sale, but the shape of the deal could hinge on how quickly they can move other players out.
Those exits could open the door to one more big attacking arrival. A versatile forward is on their radar, with Marcus Rashford among the options that have been broached. Any incoming, though, will depend on how much money they can raise – and how many contracts they can shift – in the next eight days.
United complete midfield rebuild and chase Balde
Across Manchester, United’s midfield overhaul is done. On paper, at least.
Carlos Baleba has arrived from Brighton for an initial £65m, signing a five-year deal at Old Trafford. United could pay another £5m in add-ons for the 22-year-old Cameroon international, who believes he can climb to a new level under Michael Carrick. Baleba is the third midfield signing of the season, taking the total spend on that area to £148m.
With the centre of the pitch addressed, attention has turned sharply to left-back. Alejandro Balde’s situation at Barcelona has given United fresh encouragement. Spanish outlet Marca report that the defender has decided he wants to leave after Joao Cancelo’s arrival and his omission from the squad against Elche.
United are frontrunners for his signature but are pushing for a loan rather than a permanent deal. For a club still navigating financial constraints, a temporary move for a player of Balde’s quality would be a significant win.
Watkins and Villa braced for a break
At Aston Villa, the tension is of a different kind.
Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez were both missing from the matchday squad, fuelling talk that exits are edging closer. Watkins, in particular, looks on the brink of a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. For a player who has been central to Villa’s rise and a club that gave him his platform, the manner of the departure threatens to leave a bitter taste.
Villa are also in the mix for Nicolas Jackson as they weigh up how to reshape their attack if Watkins goes. Every decision now carries emotional weight as well as financial logic.
One week, a dozen dominos
There is still a week to go in this window. A week in which Barcola’s fate could dictate Gakpo’s, in which Jackson’s next club could unlock Alvarez’s move, and in which a teenage midfielder in Lille becomes the cornerstone of a new Manchester City.
The money is vast, the gaps in squads are obvious, and the clock is ticking. Who blinks first?
