Liverpool's Pursuit of Bradley Barcola: Verbal Agreement and Fee Negotiations

Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola has moved into a new phase, with Fabrizio Romano claiming there is now a “verbal agreement” between the player and the club – and that the “deal is on” for the Paris Saint-Germain winger.

The Premier League side have zeroed in on Barcola after missing out on Yan Diomande, who joined Real Madrid, as they look to fill the gaping hole left by Mohamed Salah. Even after the arrivals of Ronald Araujo, Victor Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet, Liverpool’s squad still looks light in wide areas, and the need for top-level wingers has become urgent.

That urgency is shaping their market. Liverpool are understood to be open to bringing in as many as two more wingers before the window shuts, with Cody Gakpo’s future uncertain amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur. Barcola, though, sits clearly at the top of their list.

The 21-year-old’s stance has only encouraged Liverpool. Reports in France and England have indicated that Barcola does not intend to extend his current PSG deal, which runs to 2028, because he wants to make the move to Anfield. Romano has repeatedly stressed that personal terms would not be an issue, and his latest update on YouTube underlines that point: the player “wants to go” to Liverpool, and the club are “ready to go strong” to get him out of Paris.

Liverpool vs PSG over the fee

PSG have set a brutal starting point. Initial suggestions from France put their asking price at around £145m for Barcola alone. Romano went even further in a Thursday update, stating that the French champions were looking for a “crazy” package worth around €200m, bundling Barcola with Ibrahim Mbaye.

That combined valuation has already had consequences. Liverpool, according to Romano, have effectively stepped away from any move for Mbaye, unwilling to entertain that level of outlay. Barcola, though, remains very much in play.

Negotiations now hinge on whether PSG are prepared to climb down from their stance. Liverpool’s recruitment team have shown before that they will walk away from deals they consider inflated, but their need for a Salah successor – and Barcola’s clear desire to join – keeps this one alive.

Schira: Liverpool ‘getting closer’

Another Italian journalist, Nicolo Schira, has pushed the story even further. He claims Liverpool are “getting closer” to an agreement with PSG, quoting a fee of €125m (around £106m) and a contract running until 2032.

On X, Schira wrote: “Excl. – Bradley #Barcola is getting closer to #Liverpool from #PSG for 125M. Contract until 2032.”

That figure would represent a sizeable climbdown from PSG’s early demands and would still rank as one of the most expensive deals in Liverpool’s history. It is also a price point that raises eyebrows, given the French club’s initial insistence on a far higher sum. For now, that €125m claim sits firmly in the “wait and see” category.

What is not in doubt is PSG’s willingness to at least listen. President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, asked about potential sales this summer, did not close the door.

“We’re working calmly,” he said. “We don’t talk too much. We get things done. All of our players are important. When they sign for PSG, they become important to us.”

It was hardly a declaration that Barcola is off the market.

A pivotal window at Anfield

Liverpool’s strategy is clear: secure Barcola as a marquee wide signing, then continue to reshape the forward line with at least one more winger. That plan is complicated by Gakpo’s situation and by the scale of the fee PSG are chasing, but the club’s intent around Barcola is no longer in doubt.

The player wants the move. The personal terms are, according to Romano, verbally agreed. Liverpool are prepared to push.

Now the entire saga rests on one question: how far are they willing to go to break PSG’s resolve for a winger they see as central to the post-Salah era?