Liverpool's Winger Rebuild: Barcola and Mbaye Negotiations

Liverpool’s winger rebuild is starting to take shape, and the message from inside the negotiations is becoming clearer by the day: Bradley Barcola first, Ibrahim Mbaye only if the numbers make sense.

The Premier League side have opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain for both forwards and already have personal terms agreed with the pair. But while Mbaye and Barcola are both ready to walk away from the Parc des Princes after the arrivals of Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts squeezed an already crowded attack, Liverpool are drawing hard lines on price.

PSG value Mbaye at between £43m and £50m. Liverpool see him closer to £30m. That gap is no small detail; it’s threatening to stall one half of this double raid.

Barcola is a different story. PSG initially slapped a staggering £145m tag on the France international before trimming that figure to £125m. Liverpool have already tested the water with an offer of €115m (around £98m) and are prepared to edge that towards €120m to get their man.

On RMC Sport’s After Foot podcast, well-connected reporter Fabrice Hawkins underlined just how awkward the Mbaye talks have become.

“I don’t dare say the price being asked by Paris Saint-Germain, firstly because I haven’t had confirmation, and when I do get confirmation, I will write it,” he said, refusing to be drawn on the exact figure.

“Ibrahim Mbaye has a contractual agreement with Liverpool. What’s really going to be a problem is the agreement between clubs because LFC are already negotiating for Barcola, who is their top priority, they really want to make it happen and I said, I think it’s going to go through.

“That’s the feeling amongst everyone in the deal. Secondly, there’s Ibrahim Mbaye, but PSG are asking for a substantial fee, and at the moment Liverpool aren’t ready to accept that.

“Whilst they’re sitting down negotiating with Barcola, they’re saying ‘we will negotiate, we will find common ground’. For Ibrahim Mbaye, it’s a little bit more problematic, but negotiations are still ongoing.”

So Barcola sits at the centre of Liverpool’s plan – and he knows it.

“Bradley Barcola wants to join Liverpool. PSG were informed earlier of his desire, and it was accepted,” Hawkins added. “There’s no intention to keep Bradley Barcola. The sticking point has been the valuation, where they started at €170m.”

The pressure finally told. PSG’s stance has softened, and Hawkins believes the decisive move from Anfield is close.

“Liverpool have made different verbal offers. They’ve made offers since the verbal one, but there hasn’t been a written offer yet because, at this level, I think the next written offer will be the one that gets it done.

“We’ve understood that it would be somewhere between €130m and €150m, but in any case, it won’t be below €120m for Bradley Barcola. Everyone involved in this deal thinks there will be an agreement.”

While Liverpool wrestle with PSG over two major deals, another winger has surged up their shortlist. According to Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh has overtaken Mbaye in their internal hierarchy.

Liverpool have already seen a £50m bid for Minteh rejected and are preparing a new offer. That failed attempt has not cooled their interest; it has sharpened it.

The strategy is bold. Barcola remains the top winger target, even as talks continue for Minteh. Ideally, Liverpool want both – Barcola to headline the overhaul, Minteh to deepen and diversify the wide options.

If they pull it off, the face of their attack changes overnight. The only question now is whether PSG’s demands for Mbaye, and Brighton’s stance on Minteh, will let Liverpool complete the kind of winger revolution they’ve drawn up on the whiteboard.