Liverpool's PSG Pursuit: Barcola and Mbaye Signings Not Enough

Liverpool’s chase for Paris Saint-Germain duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye might not be enough on its own to complete their attacking rebuild, according to European football analyst Julian Laurens.

The club are accelerating plans to replace Mohamed Salah before the window closes, with Barcola identified as the headline target and Mbaye also firmly on the radar as part of a potential double swoop from PSG.

But speaking live on Sky Sports at 17:45 on Tuesday, August 18, Laurens warned that even if Liverpool land both Parisians, the squad would still look light at centre-forward.

“I still think that until [Hugo] Ekitike comes back from injury – it’s a long one, we’re not sure exactly when it will be – they probably need a back up to Alexander Isak. Especially if Cody Gakpo goes,” he said.

Strip it back and the picture is stark.

“You’re only left really with Isak as your nine,” Laurens continued. “Ok, you could look at [Federico] Chiesa, you could look at maybe other options like a [Dominik] Szoboszlai as a false nine, or Curtis Jones as a false nine. But I still think they would need a backup striker there until Ekitike comes back.

“It could be a loan, it could be like the [Ronald] Araujo deal they did for the defence.”

The warning didn’t stop at the forward line. Laurens also underlined that the middle of the pitch is far from tailored to the coach’s demands.

“Then also that midfield needs a bit of a rebuild, especially for the way Iraola wants to play, very different to Arne Slot. I’m not sure right now this midfield is exactly what he would want.”

So while all eyes are on the front three, the engine room is quietly becoming another headache.

Liverpool hunting a double discount in Paris

The financial scale of the Barcola–Mbaye plan is enormous. PSG value Barcola at around £145million, a figure that would make him one of the most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history.

Liverpool believe there is room to negotiate. The expectation is that Barcola’s fee could be pushed down to roughly £125million, with Mbaye potentially available for about £30million. Together, that would put the package at around £155million.

Officials from Anfield are already in Paris, as revealed by TEAMtalk, trying to turn interest into signatures. There is still a gap between what Liverpool want to pay and what PSG are demanding, but the Premier League club are optimistic they can eventually bridge it.

One key factor is the situation of the players themselves. Both Barcola and Mbaye have been frozen out of the PSG squad while their futures are sorted. That kind of stand-off usually points in one direction: the door is open for a sale.

Liverpool know it. PSG know it. The negotiation now is about how much that reality costs.

What remains far less clear is how close Liverpool actually are to an agreement. The framework is there, the intent is obvious, but the final numbers have not yet fallen into place.

And that leaves a crucial dilemma. If Liverpool do complete both deals, the chances of signing a permanent out-and-out striker this summer shrink dramatically. With so much of the budget swallowed by Paris, the club would be left scanning a thin late-window market for a short-term loan who can genuinely contribute.

Laurens’ message cuts through the noise: two big signings from PSG might transform Liverpool’s attack on paper, but without a proper backup to Isak and a midfield reshaped for Iraola’s demands, the rebuild risks stopping one step short.