Liverpool Secure N’Guessan as Gakpo's Future Hangs in Balance

Liverpool have their next attacking prodigy lined up – and their current frontline on the brink of a major reshuffle.

Fabrizio Romano has delivered his trademark “here we go” on Djylian N’Guessan, with Liverpool striking a deal to sign the Saint-Etienne forward, while the futures of Cody Gakpo and Ismaila Sarr dominate the final days of the window.

Liverpool land N’Guessan for 2027

The club’s recruitment team continues to work on two timelines at once. Bradley Barcola is set to arrive from PSG after completing his medical on Sunday, a signing for the here and now. N’Guessan is one for later.

Foot Mercato’s Santi Aouna first revealed that Liverpool and Saint-Etienne were in advanced talks, with only “last details to settle” over the 18-year-old’s transfer. ASSE have long accepted that their young star could go, with his contract running to 2027 but the market closing in.

Aouna reported that Liverpool view N’Guessan as a major prospect and that negotiations had reached an advanced stage, with only hours left to finalise the deal “or not”.

The uncertainty did not last long.

Romano then confirmed that an agreement is in place. N’Guessan, a versatile French attacker, will remain with Saint-Etienne for another season before joining Liverpool in the summer of 2027. The player side is done, Liverpool have obtained authorization for his medical, and the move follows the capture of Lucca Brughmans as another signing clearly aimed at the club’s future.

Crucially, N’Guessan’s arrival does not change Liverpool’s stance for these last frantic days of the window. The push for a senior right winger continues.

Gakpo agrees City move as winger chase intensifies

The Barcola deal is expected to unlock the big domino: Cody Gakpo.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano stated that Gakpo has an agreement in place with Manchester City over personal terms. City have sent an £85m bid to Liverpool and are ready to bring the Netherlands international to the Etihad after he turned down a proposed move to Tottenham.

Liverpool’s position is clear. They will only accept if they secure a right winger before the deadline. No winger, no sale.

That stance has thrown a harsh spotlight on their primary target.

At this stage, Ismaila Sarr is ahead of Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh in Liverpool’s thinking. Sarr is the “favourite candidate,” according to Romano, but Crystal Palace are holding firm. The London club are still saying no to a sale, even as they quietly explore potential winger options of their own in case the right proposal finally lands.

Liverpool have already tested Palace’s resolve. Romano revealed that the Reds sent an official written offer earlier in the week – £45m plus £5m in add-ons, a £50m package – only to see it rejected. Palace are simply not prepared to sell at that price.

For a while, the pursuit was kept remarkably quiet. There were no leaks, no headlines, and denials when whispers did emerge. Romano insists the bid was very real, and the noise now surrounding Sarr and Liverpool only underlines how far the talks have gone.

The player’s stance is not in doubt. Sarr wants the move. He wants Liverpool. Whether he gets it rests entirely on the two clubs.

Around them, the market swirls. Agents are flooding Liverpool with winger options, aware of the club’s need and the Gakpo situation hanging over everything. Every new name offered, every call taken, feeds into a race against time.

Liverpool have their next teenage talent secured in N’Guessan. The question now is whether they can land the right winger in time to cash in on Gakpo – or if one of the summer’s biggest moves collapses in the final hours.