Liverpool Targeting Barcola as PSG Signs Akliouche

Liverpool’s summer has been a grind. Targets chased, targets lost, and a fanbase watching the window tick away while the squad still screams for width and incision out wide.

Yet the Bradley Barcola pursuit, once filed under “ambitious”, is beginning to feel very real.

A winger Liverpool can’t afford to miss

Liverpool have already seen Yan Diomande slip towards Real Madrid and Michael Olise taken off the market for another year. For a club trying to refresh its attacking options, that stings.

They have moved, though. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz are in, but those are depth and development pieces. The frontline still lacks another high-end winger, which is why Liverpool have zeroed in on Barcola and also hold interest in PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye, a player who has been on Manchester City’s radar.

Barcola is the one they have to land. And crucially, he seems to know it too.

The 21-year-old has already told Paris Saint-Germain he does not intend to extend his contract beyond 2028. He has, according to multiple reports, given Liverpool the nod over Arsenal and agreed terms in principle with the Anfield club. For Liverpool, that buy‑in is everything. They are not trying to convince a hesitant star; they are trying to free one.

The money gap – and why Liverpool still fancy it

The problem is the same one that stalks every major deal in the modern game: price.

PSG want around £145m, or as L’Equipe’s Loic Tanzi puts it, €150m excluding bonuses. Liverpool, for all their intent, are pushing for something closer to £100m, roughly €120m.

That is a chasm in any negotiation. Yet Tanzi believes the gap can be bridged. Time is on the table, and so is leverage.

His view is blunt: he is “inclined to say yes” when asked if Liverpool will get Barcola, even while stressing how far apart the clubs remain. The key, he suggests, lies in PSG’s own recruitment. If the French champions complete moves for both a winger and a striker, their stance on Barcola’s fee becomes far more flexible.

And that is where Thursday in Paris starts to matter.

PSG move for Akliouche

As Barcola edges towards the exit, PSG are already welcoming his probable successor.

Maghnes Akliouche, the highly rated AS Monaco attacker, has landed in Paris to complete his transfer. Fabrizio Romano reports a €50m deal, agreed last week and being formally signed at the club.

That figure is modest by PSG standards, but the symbolism is heavy. You do not spend that sort of money on a creative wide player without preparing for a major outgoing. If Akliouche is the man coming in, Barcola is the man being eased out.

For Liverpool, every step of that process strengthens their hand. PSG, with a replacement through the door and a player unwilling to renew, suddenly have a choice: cash in at a strong but slightly reduced fee, or hold a restless asset in a dressing room already being reshaped.

Bayern back off – for now

Liverpool’s position is helped by another quiet shift in the background: Bayern Munich are not coming to crash the party this summer.

German journalist Christian Falk has made it clear that Barcola is simply too expensive for Bayern in this window. That removes the most obvious late-stage hijack threat and leaves Liverpool as the club closest to the deal.

Falk does not hide Bayern’s admiration. He calls it a pity that Barcola is not too expensive for Liverpool, because they “really need a player like Barcola now” after missing out on Diomande. Bayern, he argues, could use that profile too, but only in the future.

Their current wide focus remains Michael Olise. This year, Olise is staying put. Next year, his contract situation will force a decision: new deal, or sale. If Olise goes, Barcola is described as Bayern’s number one option to replace him.

There is a catch for the German champions, though. If Liverpool get this over the line now, Bayern’s chance disappears. Their only hope is that Barcola stays in Paris for another season and the market resets next summer.

Right now, that scenario looks less and less likely.

A deal shaped by need and timing

Strip away the noise and three forces are pushing Liverpool towards Barcola.

The player wants the move. PSG are signing his replacement. Bayern, the lurking heavyweight, have stepped aside for at least a year.

The fee will still hurt. It will test Liverpool’s resolve and their willingness to stretch beyond familiar financial comfort zones. But with Diomande Madrid-bound, Olise locked in, and the squad still short of elite wide firepower, how many more chances do they get at this profile of talent?

Liverpool have been frustrated all summer. This is their opportunity to change the tone of the entire window with one decisive swing.