Liverpool are in talks to sign a second PSG player, along with their deal for Bradley Barcola.
Liverpool is reportedly working on signing another top player from Paris Saint-Germain to join Bradley Barcola. After surprising fans by signing Osasuna winger Victor Munoz for €40 million (£34.6m), the Reds have been pretty quiet this summer.
Before the transfer window opened, many expected Liverpool, led by new coach Andoni Iraola, to be very active in signing new players. On top of that, several Liverpool players got injured during pre-season, which has made fans a bit worried about the lack of new signings.
Still, there are strong reports that Liverpool is close to signing the exciting PSG winger Barcola, who could cost over £100 million. The 23-year-old looks like the perfect player to replace Mohamed Salah, who left the club early this summer.
But it seems Liverpool might not stop there. According to Dave Ockop, Liverpool has also talked with the representatives of defender Illia Zabarnyi. Zabarnyi was left out of PSG’s squad last season and his reps say a deal could happen before the transfer window closes on September 1.
Since Iraola has worked with Zabarnyi before at Bournemouth, this move makes a lot of sense. PSG may only want to get their money back if they sell him just a year after buying him. Still, Zabarnyi would be an expensive signing. He joined PSG from Bournemouth for around £57 million, making him their second most costly defender after Virgil van Dijk.
It’s not clear yet if the deal will go through. Mark McAdam reported that Liverpool doesn’t plan to sign a new defender this summer. They want to wait for Jeremy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni, and Joe Gomez to recover from injury first.
“No, is the answer we’re hearing,” McAdam said on Sky Sports News. “My understanding is Liverpool won’t sign a new defender for the next four to six weeks. It doesn’t make sense to spend £50 million or £60 million now, only for the new signing to sit on the bench when the injured players return.”
Because of this, Liverpool might look at midfielder Wataru Endo as a temporary option to play alongside Van Dijk in defense at the start of the season.