Liverpool Intensifies Bid for PSG's Barcola and Mbaye

Liverpool have stepped up their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain pair Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, with fresh bids lodged for both players as the Premier League side look to supercharge their summer rebuild.

Liverpool push hard for Barcola

Having already moved decisively for defensive reinforcements and wide options – bringing in Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais for £55m, Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona – Liverpool are now turning their full attention to PSG’s highly rated duo.

Barcola has been on Liverpool’s radar for months. Negotiations have been ongoing as the club work to close the gap between their valuation and PSG’s steep asking price, with talks described as active and ongoing.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano underlined the situation on his YouTube channel last week, stressing that Liverpool’s interest has never cooled and that the club remain “all in” on trying to bring Barcola to Anfield. According to Romano, Liverpool have already reached a financial understanding with the player himself, leaving the two clubs to thrash out a fee.

PSG, though, are holding firm. The French champions value Barcola at around £130m, a figure that underlines both his importance and their reluctance to sell.

Enrique’s pointed comments and PSG stance

Luis Enrique has been careful with his words, but his recent comments painted a clear picture of PSG’s stance on players who are not fully committed.

“We are a very young, very ambitious team. It is important for us to make changes and look for players who enjoy playing our way and who love playing for PSG,” he said over the weekend.

“When a player doesn’t want to come here, or doesn’t have a smile on their face about being here, it is better to find another solution.”

He did not name Barcola, but the subtext was hard to ignore, especially after both Barcola and Mbaye were left out of PSG’s Trophée des Champions defeat to Lens on Sunday. Asked about their absence, Enrique simply said: “I’ll talk about the situation after the transfer window has passed.”

For Liverpool, that sounds like an invitation to keep pushing.

Double move: Barcola and Mbaye

The Merseyside club are not just chasing Barcola. They have also gone back in for Ibrahim Mbaye, with PSG understood to be asking around £42m for the defender. Combined with Barcola’s £130m valuation, the package comes to roughly £172m – a figure that could easily become the defining obstacle in the talks.

Even so, Liverpool have not backed away. A prominent X account with over 700,000 followers, which claims to have a team of “five elite reporters”, reported on Monday evening that Liverpool had submitted new bids for both players.

“EXCLUSIVE: This evening around 5pm Liverpool Football Club drop a double bomb Fresh new bids for Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye. Sources say the Reds are confident the Barcola deal gets done. And they’re quietly hopeful the Mbaye bid lands too,” the account posted.

Liverpool’s confidence around Barcola, and their quiet optimism on Mbaye, suggest a club that believes it can still bend this window to its will. If they manage to land both, this rebuild stops being a refresh and starts looking like a statement about where they intend to sit in the European hierarchy this season.