Liverpool’s Winger Rebuild: Barcola, Mbaye, and Minteh Updates

Liverpool’s winger rebuild is gathering speed, but Paris Saint-Germain are making sure it comes at a premium.

The Anfield club are deep in talks with PSG over both Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, yet the direction of travel is clear: Barcola is the headline act, Mbaye the complicated side plot, and Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is now muscling into the frame.

Barcola the priority as PSG soften, but not by much

PSG’s attacking overhaul has pushed both Barcola and Mbaye towards the exit. With Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts arriving to swell an already crowded frontline, the Champions League holders are open to sales – just not cheap ones.

Barcola, in particular, has been priced like a franchise player. His initial tag sat at an eye-watering €170m, then €145m, and now down to a still enormous €125m. Liverpool have already gone in with an offer of around €115m (£98m) and are prepared to climb towards €120m to try to break PSG’s resistance.

On RMC Sport’s After Foot podcast, Fabrice Hawkins laid out the state of play. Barcola wants Liverpool. PSG have been informed, and crucially, they have accepted his wish to leave. There is, Hawkins said, “no intention to keep Bradley Barcola.”

The problem is the number. Hawkins explained that Liverpool have made several verbal proposals and are lining up a decisive written bid. Inside the deal, the belief is that the next formal offer will be the one that finally lands. The expectation is a figure between €130m and €150m, with PSG refusing to go below €120m.

Everyone close to the talks, Hawkins added, is working on the assumption that an agreement will eventually be found.

Mbaye deal stalls as Liverpool push back on fee

Mbaye’s situation is different. The forward has a contractual agreement in place with Liverpool, according to Hawkins, but the clubs remain far apart on valuation.

PSG want between £43m and £50m. Liverpool value him closer to £30m.

That gap has turned what might have been a double swoop into a more delicate balancing act. While Liverpool sit across the table from PSG trying to thrash out terms for Barcola – their “top priority” in Hawkins’ words – Mbaye’s deal lingers in the background, complicated and unresolved.

“PSG are asking for a substantial fee, and at the moment Liverpool aren’t ready to accept that,” Hawkins said. Talks are still alive, but the energy is clearly with Barcola. For Mbaye, Liverpool are not pushing at the same intensity while they chase their main target.

Minteh enters the frame

Just as PSG’s demands for Mbaye started to bite, Liverpool turned to a different market.

Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail reports that Liverpool have chosen to prioritise Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh over Mbaye. A £50m bid has already been rejected, and a new offer is being prepared as Liverpool test Brighton’s resolve.

This isn’t a change of plan at the top of the list, though. Barcola remains Liverpool’s preferred winger signing. The Frenchman is still seen as the statement addition to reshape the wide areas.

Minteh, instead, is emerging as the alternative to Mbaye – a younger, Premier League-based option who could arrive alongside Barcola if Liverpool get their way.

A double deal in sight?

As it stands, Liverpool’s ideal scenario is bold and expensive: Barcola and Minteh through the door in the same window, a dramatic refresh of their winger department in one hit.

To get there, they must navigate PSG’s hardline stance on Barcola’s fee, decide whether Mbaye is worth pushing for at PSG’s price, and find the number that finally makes Brighton blink on Minteh.

The negotiations are running on parallel tracks. The sense from those around the Barcola talks is that a breakthrough is coming. If that domino falls, the real question becomes simple: will Liverpool stop at one winger, or gamble big and reshape an entire flank in a single summer?