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Liverpool expected to complete PSG signing before any 'historic' Bradley Barcola move: report
Arjun Pillai | August 6, 2026 11:12 AM CST

Liverpool have two Paris Saint-Germain players on their shortlist, with Bradley Barcola only one of the Reds' targets.

Liverpool are expected to finalise a deal for a Paris Saint-Germain player - and it is not Bradley Barcola.

Barcola has been one of Liverpool's main targets since the transfer window opened, after Mohamed Salah left Anfield following nine years at the club. Now, according to RMC Sport, a move for Senegal striker Ibrahim Mbaye is "expected" to reach an agreement.

The report says this could be a "historic" summer for outgoing transfers at the European champions, with Paris Saint-Germain having already pocketed close to €150 million from the sales of Kang-in Lee to Atletico Madrid, Goncalo Ramos to Milan, and Randal Kolo Muani to Juventus.

Mbaye has two years remaining on his current Paris Saint-Germain contract and is regarded as a highly rated striker in French football. But with strong competition for attacking places and Les Parisiens hoping to bring in a top-level attacker such as Julian Alvarez or Yan Diomande earlier in the window, the route for the 18-year-old to become a regular starter under Luis Enrique appears somewhat unclear.

The Senegal international is valued at between €35-45 million, but with Bayer Leverkusen also interested, Liverpool are facing competition for his signature.

Canal+ journalist Olivier Talleron has said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Bundesliga club currently hold the advantage over Liverpool, which differs from the RMC Sport report. That report says Mbaye is attracted by the possibility of continuing his development on Merseyside.

They also add that although talks are still ongoing over Barcola making the move to Anfield, "the two sides are currently far apart" in their valuation of the France international.

"Between the price set by the Parisian club (over €150 million) and the Reds' desire to avoid breaking the bank, a compromise will need to be found for the deal to go through," they state.

FourFourTwo understands that Liverpool's interest in Mbaye is separate from their pursuit of Barcola and is not necessarily an alternative move, with the Frenchman operating more as a left winger and the Senegalese youngster primarily an option on the right flank.

Both players are capable of featuring on either wing - and through the middle - while new signing Victor Munoz, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike are all players who can also be used on the left.

It is still unclear which of those options will be used on the left, through the centre or behind the striker, and whether any of them will be deployed on the right, or if that role will instead go to players such as Jeremie Frimpong or Dominik Szoboszlai, who featured there last season.

Bournemouth manager Iraola was meanwhile no stranger to using a right-footed player on the right wing, or a left-footer on the left, with Alex Jimenez deployed on the right for large parts of last season before Marcus Tavernier became first choice on the left towards the end of the campaign.

According to Transfermarkt, Mbaye is worth €30m. Liverpool begin their Premier League season against Newcastle United when the new campaign gets under way.


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