Liverpool Closing in on Bradley Barcola Transfer

Liverpool are closing in on their primary wide target, with Fabrizio Romano convinced the club are ready to launch a “very strong” move for Bradley Barcola after Paris Saint-Germain dropped their demands yet again.

The 23-year-old France international has been Liverpool’s preferred option on the wing all summer, and the club want two wide forwards through the door before the window shuts. Barcola is the headline act. Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh currently leads the race to be the second arrival ahead of Ibrahim Mbaye.

Talks with Barcola himself are done. Personal terms are agreed, and Liverpool’s hierarchy are now locked in daily negotiations with PSG over the fee and the structure of the deal.

PSG are open to selling. Barcola, along with Mbaye, was omitted from the squad for the Ligue 1 opener against Rennes at the weekend, a clear signal that the French champions are preparing for life without him.

The price has been the problem.

PSG initially tried to plant a flag at an astonishing €170m (£145m). Liverpool never even entertained that figure. The landscape shifted once PSG moved aggressively in the market, bringing in Ferran Torres, Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche to bolster their forward line.

As those signings arrived, the Barcola valuation began to slide. Multiple reports suggested PSG had cut their demands to around €146m (£125m). Then came the latest twist.

On Tuesday morning, insider Graeme Bailey was told PSG had trimmed the asking price again, this time to €140m (£119m).

That number has been greeted with relief at Anfield. Liverpool’s decision-makers have no desire to turn Barcola into the most expensive signing in British football history and heap that kind of weight on his shoulders before he even kicks a ball for the club.

That particular record remains with Alexander Isak at £125m. If Liverpool decide to match PSG’s new valuation, Isak’s fee would still stand as the benchmark.

Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, believes the stage is now set for Liverpool to act decisively.

“On Bradley Barcola, guys, I told you since the beginning, it is not going to be €170m,” he said. “With all respect for PSG, the feeling of those in the industry has always been that it is never going to be €170m, but it will still be a big amount of money.

“And this is why Liverpool and PSG are having a direct exchange day by day. So, the conversation is continuing behind the scenes.

“I told you the updates, the media updates on this story are not so traditional, like an official bid, this money, accepted, rejected, because this is a direct conversation between directors, between owners.

“So, they are talking in a direct way, Liverpool and PSG, but the deal is alive. Barcola is absolutely, absolutely a deal that Liverpool want to complete in the next few days, and my expectation is absolutely for Liverpool to go very strong for Barcola.

“Then you still need to reach an agreement for PSG to have the ‘Here We Go’. So, that remains the story and Liverpool are going very strong for Bradley Barcola. And then they want one more if Cody Gakpo goes to Tottenham or Man City.”

So the picture is clear. Liverpool have their man in mind, the player is on board, and the price is finally edging into a range they can live with. What happens next may hinge on Cody Gakpo’s future — and whether this late-window gamble reshapes Liverpool’s entire forward line.