Liverpool Pursue PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye as Barcola Talks Stall
Liverpool’s search for the next great Anfield forward is edging towards Paris – but not towards the name that has dominated the headlines all summer.
While Bradley Barcola has been the headline target to help fill the void left by Mohamed Salah’s departure after nine years, attention is now tightening around another Paris Saint-Germain talent. In France, the expectation is growing that Liverpool will push through a deal for 18-year-old Senegalese striker Ibrahim Mbaye.
RMC Sport report that an agreement for Mbaye is “expected”, part of what is being framed in Paris as a historic clear-out by the European champions. PSG have already banked close to €150 million from the exits of Kang-in Lee to Atletico Madrid, Goncalo Ramos to Milan and Randal Kolo Muani to Juventus. Mbaye could be the next name on that list.
A talent squeezed by PSG’s ambition
Mbaye still has two years to run on his PSG contract and is regarded as one of the brightest young strikers in French football. The problem for him lies in the traffic ahead.
Luis Enrique already has serious depth in attacking areas, and the club’s hierarchy have been chasing an A-list forward this window, with Julian Alvarez and Yan Diomande both on their radar. For an 18-year-old trying to establish himself, the route to regular starts in Paris looks clogged.
That is where Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen step in.
PSG value Mbaye at somewhere between €35m and €45m. At that price, he is no longer a prospect to be tucked away in an academy side; he is an investment intended to play. Both Liverpool and Leverkusen see that opportunity.
Liverpool vs Leverkusen
The tug-of-war for Mbaye is already being framed differently across Europe.
Canal+ journalist Olivier Tallaron has claimed on X that Bayer Leverkusen currently hold the edge over Liverpool in the race, suggesting the Bundesliga champions have moved more decisively. RMC Sport paint a different picture, insisting Mbaye is attracted by the idea of developing on Merseyside.
Two competing narratives. One player. One decision that could shape the next phase of his career.
For Liverpool, Mbaye is not simply a back-up plan if Barcola proves too expensive. FourFourTwo understands that the pursuit of the Senegalese forward is a separate track entirely. Barcola, a natural left-winger, and Mbaye, more comfortable operating from the right, are viewed as complementary options rather than either-or alternatives.
Barcola talks stuck on the numbers
If Mbaye’s price looks manageable, Barcola’s does not. Not yet.
Discussions between Liverpool and PSG over the French international are ongoing, but the two clubs remain “far apart” in their valuations. PSG are holding out for a fee north of €150m. Liverpool, wary of detonating their wage and fee structure on a single deal, are reluctant to go anywhere near that number.
“Between the price set by the Parisian club (over €150 million) and the Reds’ desire to avoid breaking the bank, a compromise will need to be found for the deal to go through,” RMC note.
Until that gap narrows, Mbaye looks the more realistic PSG arrival at Anfield.
Fitting the pieces around Salah’s shadow
The broader picture at Liverpool is a squad being reshaped across the front line.
Both Mbaye and Barcola can operate on either flank and through the middle, adding to a growing group of flexible attackers. New signing Victor Munoz, along with Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, all offer options on the left side or centrally.
The tactical jigsaw is far from complete. It remains unclear which of those players will be trusted on the left, who will lead the line, who will drop in behind the striker and, crucially, who will inherit Salah’s old territory on the right.
That right flank could yet fall to a more unconventional choice. Jeremie Frimpong and Dominik Szoboszlai both operated there last season, offering a different interpretation of the role: part winger, part playmaker, part auxiliary full-back.
The new manager, Iraola, showed at Bournemouth that he is comfortable with a straightforward approach to wide players – right-footers on the right, left-footers on the left. Alex Jimenez spent long stretches on the right wing before Marcus Tavernier nailed down the left towards the end of the campaign. There is no obsession with inverted wingers for the sake of it; the priority is balance and intensity.
In that context, Mbaye’s profile makes sense. A right-sided forward who can stretch defences, attack space and still shift across the line when needed. Young enough to mould, good enough to play.
Liverpool and Leverkusen both see the same thing. PSG see a chance to cash in during a summer of ruthless sales.
Now the decision rests with an 18-year-old looking at two very different pathways. One leads to Anfield, the expectation of replacing a legend and the roar of the Kop. The other to Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champions and a coach in Xabi Alonso who has turned young attackers into stars.
Whichever route Mbaye chooses, this will not be a quiet move on the fringes of the window. It feels like the start of someone’s story – the only question is whether it is written in red.
