According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool may have to shell out close to £170m in total if they want to pull off a stunning two-for-one raid on PSG’s attack this month.
Bradley Barcola’s future remains the main storyline, with speculation heating up after PSG chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi declined to rule out his departure following Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup clash. Alongside that, Liverpool have also been tied to Barcola’s PSG teammate Ibrahim Mbaye, who’s said to have his head turned by the idea of joining Andoni Iraola’s side.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel early Thursday, Romano suggested Liverpool are unlikely to push much further for Mbaye given the financial scale involved. He explained that while Liverpool have been in dialogue with Mbaye’s representatives for a while, PSG view signing both Barcola and Mbaye as an outlay approaching €200m combined — a huge sum for two players. Romano added that Liverpool’s current approach is to bring in two wingers before the window shuts, particularly if Cody Gakpo ends up moving to Tottenham, which he says is a genuine possibility. Should that happen, it would open up room for Liverpool to add both Barcola and another winger. On Mbaye specifically, Romano confirmed Liverpool have been talking to his agent Jorge Mendes, but PSG’s valuation of the youngster is currently seen as too steep, leaving his situation unresolved.
The figures being reported differ slightly depending on the source, but it’s understood Barcola would make up roughly 80% of the near-£171m combined total Romano cited. That Liverpool see Mbaye — valued at only around a quarter of Barcola’s price — as too costly suggests their focus for now is firmly on landing the Frenchman alone.
That stance could shift if Gakpo departs for Spurs and Liverpool decide to bring in two wingers instead of one, though there’s little indication yet that the Reds are willing to let the Dutchman go. It’s also worth noting the contrast between the two PSG forwards: while Mbaye is a highly-rated teenager still developing (having been praised by Sadio Mané as having a promising future), Barcola has already delivered at the highest level, playing a key role in PSG’s back-to-back Champions League successes.
All signs point to Liverpool prioritizing Barcola above all else, and with the player himself keen and PSG potentially willing to sell for the right price, there’s a real chance this deal gets over the line before the window closes.
