Liverpool Near Deal for Barcola as PSG Target Akliouche
Liverpool’s summer has been a grind. Targets missed, negotiations dragged out, a squad still short of the wide threat it so obviously needs. Yet, slowly, the pieces around Bradley Barcola are starting to fall into place.
The chase for the Paris Saint-Germain winger has turned into the defining saga of their window. Liverpool have already watched Yan Diomande slip towards Real Madrid and seen Michael Olise stay put. For a club that wants to refresh its attacking options out wide, Barcola has moved from “interesting opportunity” to “near-essential”.
Inside the club, there is one crucial comfort: Barcola wants the move.
The 21-year-old has informed PSG he does not intend to extend his contract beyond 2028 and, according to reports, has already reached a contractual agreement with Liverpool. He is said to favour Anfield over Arsenal, a significant victory in itself in a market where Premier League rivals rarely stand still.
That desire matters. Liverpool know they cannot bully PSG financially. They need the player’s will to tip the scales.
Right now, the numbers are still ugly. PSG are holding out for around £145m, a figure framed in France as €150m excluding bonuses. Liverpool, for all their need, are aiming closer to £100m and are reluctant to move beyond the €120m mark.
Yet there is growing belief that the gap will close.
L’Equipe journalist Loic Tanzi has voiced confidence that an agreement can be struck, stressing that time and PSG’s own business could soften the French champions’ stance. His view is simple: if PSG get their incoming deals done, the Barcola talks become easier.
That part of the equation is already swinging Liverpool’s way.
On Thursday, PSG are set to finalise the signing of Maghnes Akliouche from AS Monaco. Fabrizio Romano has reported that the 22-year-old has landed in Paris to complete a €50m transfer, a deal wrapped up last week and now being formally signed. Akliouche is widely seen as the man earmarked to step into Barcola’s role.
PSG wanted cover before they even thought about letting Barcola go. With Akliouche walking through the door, that excuse weakens.
At the same time, one of the lurking threats in the background has stepped away. Bayern Munich, a club that rarely stays quiet when elite wide forwards come onto the market, are not expected to mount a late hijack.
German reporter Christian Falk has made it clear: Bayern consider Barcola too expensive this summer. For them, the numbers do not add up. For Liverpool, painfully, they still might.
Falk’s assessment underlines the stakes at Anfield. With Diomande heading to Real Madrid and Olise off the table for now, Liverpool “really need a player like Barcola”. Bayern, he notes, could revisit the Frenchman in the future, especially if they eventually lose Michael Olise and need a like-for-like replacement. In Munich’s planning, Barcola is the number one candidate to succeed Olise if and when that day comes.
There is a warning buried in that. If Liverpool fail to close this now and Barcola stays in Paris for another season, the market around him could look very different next summer. Bayern would be there. Others, too.
For the moment, though, Liverpool hold a rare advantage. The player is aligned with them. PSG are on the verge of announcing his replacement. Bayern have stepped back. Arsenal, by all accounts, trail in his preferences.
What remains is the hardest part: writing a cheque that satisfies PSG without blowing apart Liverpool’s own internal logic on fees.
This has been a window of frustration at Anfield, but also one of quiet opportunity. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have arrived to bolster the squad. Ibrahim Mbaye, another PSG talent and a Manchester City target, is firmly on the radar after Liverpool received encouragement to push harder.
Yet none of those names carries the same weight as Barcola. He is the statement winger, the one who would change the look of Liverpool’s front line and, by extension, the feel of their season.
The pressure now sits squarely on the negotiating table. PSG have their replacement. Bayern are out of the way. The player is waiting.
Liverpool asked for a clear run at a top winger. They might not get a better one than this.
