Liverpool Pursue PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye Amid Salah Transition

Liverpool have moved to the front of the queue for Paris Saint-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye, sounding out the conditions of a deal for one of Africa’s brightest young forwards as Andoni Iraola reshapes his attack.

The 18-year-old right winger, already a full Senegal international and a World Cup history-maker, is understood to be keen on a switch to Anfield as Liverpool search for the next long-term threat off the flank in the post-Mohamed Salah era.

Iraola’s wide rebuild

Iraola has been clear from day one: his system lives and dies by its wingers. The club’s recruitment drive this summer reflects that. Liverpool plan to finish the window with five senior wide options, with one of those slots earmarked for a younger player they can mould over time.

Mbaye fits that brief perfectly.

Predominantly operating from the right, he occupies the very space Salah vacated at the end of last season. Victor Munoz has already arrived to bolster the front line, but Liverpool want more pace, more direct running, more chaos in wide areas. Mbaye is one of several names on a list, yet he has quickly moved from background interest to a serious target.

Mbaye and Barcola: separate tracks, same shop window

Liverpool’s scouts have not limited their focus to one PSG prospect. The club also hold strong interest in Mbaye’s club team-mate Bradley Barcola. For now, though, there is a clear distinction: the pursuit of Mbaye is completely independent of any potential move for Barcola.

No formal offer has gone in for either player. That is not unusual at this stage of a complex window, but there is a stark difference in difficulty. PSG’s £145m valuation of Barcola makes that particular deal extremely hard to execute. Mbaye, younger and at an earlier stage of his career, represents a different type of opportunity.

Liverpool are open to signing Mbaye and another more experienced winger if the numbers line up. One for the present, one for the future. Or, in Iraola’s ideal world, one who can be both.

From Paris prospect to World Cup history

Mbaye’s rise has been rapid. He came through PSG’s academy and made his senior debut in August 2024 at just 16, stepping into one of the most pressurised dressing rooms in European football.

Internationally, his path has been just as striking. Having represented France at youth level, he switched to Senegal and made his senior debut in November 2025. Within a year, he was on the biggest stage of all.

At the 2026 World Cup, Mbaye etched his name into the record books. In Senegal’s 3-1 defeat to France, he became the youngest African ever to score at the tournament, aged 18 years and 143 days. It was a consolation goal on the night, but a landmark moment in the wider story of his career.

That kind of pedigree at such a young age explains why Liverpool are moving early. They are not alone in tracking him, but they are one of the few clubs able to offer both a demanding stage and a clear developmental pathway.

Life after Salah

Replacing a figure like Salah is not a one-player job. Liverpool know that. The strategy is not to find a clone, but to rebuild the threat across multiple positions and profiles.

Mbaye, raw but fearless, would arrive as a project with the potential to explode under the right coaching. His pace and directness mirror the kind of wide play Iraola demands: high intensity, relentless pressing, and a constant willingness to attack space.

The question now is whether Liverpool can turn exploratory talks into a concrete agreement with PSG. If they do, Anfield may soon be watching another right-footed left-hugging winger from Africa try to write his own chapter on that famous flank.