Liverpool Pursue Bradley Barcola as Winger Hunt Intensifies
Liverpool’s summer has circled around one problem: life after Mohamed Salah. With the club icon gone on a free to Trabzonspor, the champions of England are racing the clock to rebuild their wide options before the window shuts on September 1.
Sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola know they are short. The search has narrowed. The focus is sharp.
Barcola, the headline act
Bradley Barcola is the one they want. Not quietly, not tentatively. He is Liverpool’s No. 1 attacking target.
The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger has been on their radar ever since it became clear a deal for Yan Diomande was off the table. Once that avenue closed, Liverpool moved firmly towards Barcola and have stayed there.
PSG were initially thought to be holding out for a staggering £145 million fee, a figure that would have scared off most clubs. That stance is softening. The French champions are now understood to be open to a deal just north of £100m.
Crucially, Barcola’s preference is clear: he wants Anfield. Arsenal like him, admire his profile, and would be keen to do business. But the former Lyon academy product is fixated on Liverpool.
PSG freeze-out signals intent
The situation in Paris is growing more telling by the day.
RMC Sport report that Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye have once again been left out of the PSG squad for this weekend’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes, despite both training on Saturday morning.
“Although they were present at training on Saturday morning, the two players, who are expected to leave, are not part of the Parisian group to face Rennes on Sunday (8:45pm), RMC Sport has learned,” the outlet states.
PSG’s logic is simple: protect the assets. Keeping them out of the firing line reduces the risk of injury and preserves their market value as the window ticks down.
For Barcola, the pattern is unmistakable. Frozen out again, no sign of reintegration, no hint of a late U-turn. All roads lead away from Paris. Right now, the clearest path runs straight to Merseyside.
Mbaye interest cools as Minteh emerges
Liverpool’s winger search has not stopped at Barcola, but the hierarchy are being ruthless with their choices.
The club are in the mix for Yankuba Minteh, seen as an alternative to PSG’s Mbaye. Mbaye is available, and Liverpool do like him, yet a £60m outlay for the Senegal international is highly unlikely to get Hughes’ approval.
The stance is firm: interest, yes; desperation, no. With other suitors such as Bayer Leverkusen circling Mbaye, Liverpool appear content to step back unless the numbers change dramatically.
Minteh, by contrast, offers a different route at a different price point, giving Liverpool flexibility if the Barcola deal drags or collapses.
Liverpool’s next move
For now, though, the Barcola chase defines their window.
PSG are ready to cash in. The player wants Anfield. Arsenal linger in the background but lack the same pull in this particular race.
Liverpool have lost Salah and the goals, chaos and fear he brought to every right-back in the league. They cannot afford to drift into the new season light on the flanks.
PSG have made their position clear by leaving Barcola out in the cold. The stage is set. It is over to Hughes and Liverpool now: do they finish the job before the window slams shut?
