Liverpool's Double Raid on PSG: Barcola and Mbaye Targeted
Liverpool’s summer rebuild has moved from rumour to the brink of a seismic double raid on Paris Saint-Germain, with Bradley Barcola at the centre of an eye-watering agreement in principle and Ibrahim Mbaye now firmly in their sights.
Liverpool and PSG find the Barcola number
For weeks, Liverpool and PSG have been locked in a high-stakes standoff over Barcola’s price. The winger, who shone for France at the 2026 World Cup and has refused to sign a new deal in Paris, made it clear he wants out. Just as clearly, he wants Anfield.
PSG dug in. Their valuation of the 23-year-old hit €170m, a figure that underlined both his status and their reluctance to lose him. Liverpool pushed back hard. Reports in France on August 6 suggested the Premier League club would not go beyond €120m, while PSG were holding out for €150m.
Something had to give. It finally did.
Liverpool-focused outlet DaveocKop now reports that the clubs have reached an agreement in principle over a €128m fee, with add-ons described as more realistic than those in earlier proposals. The deal is not signed. Nothing is completed. But the framework is there: around €128m, structure softened, expectations aligned.
Earlier, L’Equipe had already claimed Liverpool had a contractual agreement with Barcola himself. Combine that with the latest suggestion of a club-to-club understanding, and the picture sharpens: Liverpool have moved from admiration to serious execution.
This is not yet a done deal. It is one outlet’s line, and the caveat matters in a window where narratives move faster than negotiations. Other major sources still need to echo the story before anyone can talk about completion. Yet the direction of travel is obvious. Liverpool have chosen their man and are prepared to pay elite money to prise him from the French champions.
FSG’s next swing: Ibrahim Mbaye
While Barcola dominates the headlines, Liverpool’s recruitment drive in Paris may not stop there.
Ibrahim Mbaye, another PSG winger, has emerged as a live target. Fabrizio Romano, speaking on The Market Madness on August 6, described “genuine interest” from Liverpool and confirmed conversations with Mbaye’s new agent, Jorge Mendes. Bayer Leverkusen had pushed hard, but the momentum has shifted. Liverpool, Romano says, now lead the race.
Two days earlier, at 10:15pm on August 4, Romano wrote that Liverpool had made contact with Mendes over Mbaye. The player, he added, also has proposals from Bundesliga clubs but is giving priority to the Liverpool project. A move to RB Leipzig had been close before collapsing when the Diomande-PSG deal fell through, leaving Mbaye’s future back in play.
TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey followed up on August 6, reporting that Liverpool are in talks with Mbaye’s representatives and that the winger is keen on a switch to Anfield. Interest, contact, preference: the pieces are aligning.
A statement window taking shape
Strip away the noise and the pattern is clear. Liverpool, under Fenway Sports Group, are not browsing. They are targeting the top shelf of European attacking talent and are willing to engage with PSG at the very highest financial level to get it done.
Barcola would arrive as a marquee signing, a €128m statement that Liverpool intend to refresh their forward line with a player already proven on the biggest international stage. Mbaye, should negotiations progress, would add another explosive option, turning a single ambitious move into a coordinated assault on the next era of the club’s attack.
Nothing is signed yet. Deals of this scale can twist late. But if Liverpool complete even one of these pursuits, the shape of their season changes. If they land both from PSG, the balance of power in Europe’s transfer market shifts with it.
