Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: More Than Just Barcola and Mbaye

Julian Laurens believes Liverpool’s summer rebuild in attack cannot stop at Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, even if the club pull off a double swoop from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Reds are accelerating their search for a long-term successor to Mohamed Salah and have zeroed in on Barcola as their priority target, with PSG team-mate Mbaye also firmly on the radar. Liverpool officials are currently in Paris trying to drive those talks towards an agreement.

Yet speaking on Sky Sports at 17:45 on Tuesday, August 18, European football specialist Laurens argued that landing the PSG pair would still leave a glaring hole up front.

“I still think that until [Hugo] Ekitike comes back from injury – it’s a long one, we’re not sure exactly when it will be – they probably need a back up to Alexander Isak. Especially if Cody Gakpo goes,” he said.

Strip it back and the picture is stark.

“You’re only left really with Isak as your nine,” Laurens continued. “Ok, you could look at [Federico] Chiesa, you could look at maybe other options like a [Dominik] Szoboszlai as a false nine, or Curtis Jones as a false nine.

“But I still think they would need a backup striker there until Ekitike comes back.

“It could be a loan, it could be like the [Ronald] Araujo deal they did for the defence.

“Then also that midfield needs a bit of a rebuild, especially for the way Iraola wants to play, very different to Arne Slot. I’m not sure right now this midfield is exactly what he would want.”

The message is clear: two wide forwards alone won’t fix the spine.

Liverpool chase ‘double discount’ in Paris

The finances involved underline the scale of the gamble. PSG value Barcola at around £145million, a figure that would already make him one of the most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history. Adding Mbaye on top of that pushes the potential outlay into eye-watering territory.

Liverpool, though, sense an opening.

There is confidence that Barcola’s asking price can be driven down to about £125million, with Mbaye potentially available for as little as £30million. A combined £155million package would still be huge, but the club believe it represents a “double discount” on PSG’s initial stance.

TEAMtalk report that Liverpool representatives are in the French capital trying to close the gap in valuations. There is still work to do, and no agreement yet, but the mood around the talks is described as hopeful.

One factor plays heavily in Liverpool’s favour: both Barcola and Mbaye have been frozen out of the PSG squad while their futures are resolved. That standoff hints at a willingness from the French champions to cash in, and Liverpool are determined to be at the front of the queue if the door fully opens.

For now, though, there is no clarity on how close the Anfield club actually are to getting either deal over the line.

And that’s where Laurens’ warning bites hardest. If Liverpool do manage to land Barcola and Mbaye, the budget and squad numbers could make a permanent centre-forward signing almost impossible. At this late stage in the window, even finding a meaningful loan option to cover the No.9 role will be a serious challenge.

Liverpool are pushing for a new era in attack. The question is whether they can afford – in every sense – to leave themselves one striker short.