Liverpool secures Djylian N’Guessan for 2027
Liverpool have moved to secure one of France’s brightest young forwards, with Fabrizio Romano delivering his trademark “here we go” on a deal for Saint-Etienne attacker Djylian N’Guessan.
The 18-year-old, who can operate across the front line or through the middle, will join Liverpool in the summer of 2027, with one more full season to come at Saint-Etienne before he makes the leap to Anfield. Romano reports that Liverpool already have authorization for a medical and that an agreement is in place on the player side.
It is another long-range strike from the club’s recruitment department. N’Guessan follows Lucca Brughmans as a signing clearly earmarked for the future rather than the immediate scramble of this deadline.
Liverpool move early for N’Guessan
The first spark came from Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, who revealed on X that talks between AS Saint-Etienne and Liverpool had reached an advanced stage, with only “last details to settle.”
Aouna later expanded that Saint-Etienne had effectively opened the door for N’Guessan to leave. The forward is under contract until 2027, but the French club have accepted that a sale is the realistic route, with Liverpool viewing him as a major prospect.
“With only a few hours left to finalize the deal… or not,” Aouna wrote, underlining how tight the race was against the deadline.
Romano then stepped in to confirm the outcome: agreement reached, deal done, N’Guessan to Liverpool in 2027. For a player still learning his trade in Ligue 2, it is a huge statement of faith from one of Europe’s elite clubs.
Gakpo, City and the Sarr domino
The N’Guessan news drops into a much bigger picture at Liverpool, where the attacking department could be reshaped in dramatic fashion in the final hours of the window.
Cody Gakpo has an agreement on personal terms with Manchester City, according to Romano, and City have already sent an £85m bid to Liverpool. The Premier League champions are ready. The player is ready. The only hesitation lies on Merseyside.
Liverpool will only sign off on Gakpo’s departure if they land a right winger before the deadline. If they cannot, they keep him. Simple on paper, complicated in reality.
Right now, the preferred option is clear. Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace sits ahead of Yankuba Minteh on Liverpool’s list. Sarr wants the move. Palace, for the moment, do not.
Romano says Palace have already turned down a written offer from Liverpool worth £45m plus £5m in add-ons, a £50m package rejected outright. He insists the bid was formal, not a verbal feeler, despite earlier denials from various quarters.
Palace are holding their line and at the same time scanning the market for wingers of their own, just in case an acceptable proposal lands on the table. Liverpool, aware that every agent in Europe knows they need a wide player, are being inundated with options.
The pressure is obvious. Accept City’s £85m for Gakpo and trust that Palace crack on Sarr? Or walk away, keep the Dutchman, and bank on N’Guessan and other long-term bets to refresh the attack in the coming years?
Liverpool have their future piece in Djylian N’Guessan. The question now is whether they are ready to let go of a key part of their present to complete the puzzle.
