Liverpool pull off a surprising transfer comeback and bring back a deal everyone thought was dead
Liverpool’s transfer window might finally be heating up again, with new plans to chase one of their top targets coming to light.
Despite lots of talk about a busy and exciting summer, Liverpool have been pretty quiet so far when it comes to signing new players for Andoni Iraola’s team. They did spend €40 million (£34.6m) to trigger the release clause for Osasuna winger Victor Munoz, and also brought in Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo on a loan for the season. But that’s about it so far.
The club has been linked with signing a new forward to help replace club legend Mohamed Salah, who left at the end of the 2025/26 season. Everyone knows Liverpool really want Paris Saint-Germain’s winger Bradley Barcola. The Reds seem keen to sign the Frenchman before the window closes on September 1.
But PSG is asking for a huge £145m, and Liverpool don’t want to pay more than £120m. This has caused a bit of a standstill, so Liverpool are also thinking about other options, including Barcola’s teammate Ibrahim Mbaye.
However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently said that the move for Mbaye was ‘off’ because PSG’s price was too high—reports say they want about €50m (£43m). But now, journalist Loic Tanzi from L’Equipe says Liverpool haven’t given up on Mbaye and plan to make an opening bid for the 18-year-old soon. Tanzi didn’t say how much the offer will be, but it shows Liverpool are serious about bringing Mbaye in, especially if the deal for Barcola doesn’t work out. Plus, Mbaye seems interested in moving, so it could be a fairly simple deal if PSG agrees to Liverpool’s offer.
If Liverpool do sign Mbaye soon, it might change their plans to keep chasing Barcola before the window shuts.
Also, signing both PSG wingers could depend on what happens with current Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo. He has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and reportedly is open to joining them since he might not get regular starts under Iraola. If Liverpool sell Gakpo, it’s said they want about £70m for him, which is roughly double what they paid for him from PSV in December 2022.
So far, Gakpo has played 180 games for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 50 goals and assisting 23 over four seasons, including the title-winning 2024/25 season under Arne Slot.