PSG's Transfer Dominance: Liverpool's Frustration with Diomande and Akliouche
Paris Saint-Germain are moving through this transfer window like a club determined to own the market, and Liverpool are feeling the weight of it.
First came Yan Diomande. Now Maghnes Akliouche looks set to follow.
PSG flex, Liverpool flinch
Word first emerged from France that Akliouche, Monaco’s gifted 24-year-old attacking midfielder, has given the green light to a move to the Parc des Princes. PSG are already in talks with Monaco over a deal, according to TEAMtalk. No fee agreed yet, but the direction of travel is obvious.
Liverpool have tracked Akliouche for some time. They liked the profile: creative, versatile, entering his prime. They may now have to file him away with the growing list of players who see their future in Paris instead of Anfield.
The bigger blow, though, is Diomande.
Reports from RMC Sport set the tone: PSG were ready to strike the moment the RB Leipzig winger made clear he wanted to leave. That moment has arrived. David Ornstein of The Athletic, currently on World Cup duty in the United States, reported that Diomande has chosen PSG as his next destination if he departs Leipzig this summer.
The 19-year-old Ivory Coast international is not just picking a club. He is buying into a vision. Sources cited by The Athletic say he believes in the project fronted by Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Luis Campos and wants to play under Luis Enrique. He sees Paris as the stage on which he can compete for major trophies every year and, in his own mind, chase the Ballon d’Or.
Liverpool were prepared to go big. A package close to €100 million was on the table in principle. Leipzig refused to bite, holding out for closer to €130m and working to extend a contract that already runs until 2030 after his move from Leganes last summer.
RMC now claim Diomande has agreed a five-year contract with PSG, brokered by Roc Nation Sport. The champions of Europe will now sit down with Leipzig and try to find a fee that suits their new “pay the right price” policy. The German press have spoken of that €130m demand. PSG, for all their wealth, do not want to go that high.
Even so, the power dynamic is clear. Liverpool are on the outside, watching.
Salah’s shadow and a shifting market
For Liverpool, there is no dressing this up. Missing out on their top attacking target is a serious setback.
Mohamed Salah needs replacing, whether this summer or the next. The forward line needs fresh dynamism, goals, and star quality. Diomande ticked every box and more. Now he is edging towards Paris, and Liverpool must pivot.
Inside the club, the need for width and end product is obvious. Outside, PSG are hoarding exactly the kind of players Liverpool want.
Bradley Barcola, already on Liverpool’s radar, is one such name. Fabrizio Romano has repeatedly underlined the Reds’ admiration for the French winger, saying he was on their shortlist in 2025 and remains a concrete option for 2026. He insists the situation around Barcola is “still open”, even as many in France claim PSG will not sell.
If Diomande walks through the door at the Parc des Princes, that equation may change. Liverpool are watching closely. They may have to move quickly.
Other lanes: Rayan, El Mala, Nmecha
The World Cup shop window has opened several other avenues.
Rayan, the Bournemouth winger linked with Liverpool, is expected to feature again for Brazil against Japan in Houston. He started in their 3-0 win over Scotland, stepping in for the injured Raphinha, and could keep his place with the Barcelona man still a doubt.
Rayan’s contract includes a £130m release clause that activates next January. Clubs, Liverpool included, would prefer to negotiate below that figure. Andoni Iraola, who brought him to Bournemouth in January, has been linked with a reunion. His pace and directness have not gone unnoticed.
In Germany, Said El Mala’s situation at Cologne is starting to intrigue Liverpool’s recruitment team. The 19-year-old winger looked set to join Brentford earlier this year before turning the move down in search of a bigger stage. Since then, serious interest has been slower than Cologne expected.
Express report that the Bundesliga club are growing nervous about the lack of suitors. They want around £40m for El Mala to fund their own rebuild. Liverpool and Newcastle have both been linked and remain in the conversation. Thirteen goals and five assists in 34 league appearances last season underline his potential, and Cologne’s unease could open a window for a smart, opportunistic deal.
Felix Nmecha is another name in the notebook. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder burst into the World Cup with a dazzling start for Germany, only to struggle badly in a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador. He now faces Paraguay at Gillette Stadium with scouts from Liverpool and Manchester United among those assessing whether his early promise was a spike or a sign of something more sustainable.
The World Cup can turn reputations in a week. Nmecha is living that reality.
Guimaraes, contracts and the wider landscape
Away from wide forwards, Liverpool’s long-standing admiration for Bruno Guimaraes is running into the hard reality of Newcastle’s resolve.
The Brazilian is at the World Cup, but back on Tyneside, Newcastle are pushing to tie him down to a new contract and make him the highest-paid player in the club’s history on around £200,000 a week. Arsenal have already seen a £55m bid knocked back, and although it is understood Guimaraes can leave for £60m after Newcastle missed out on the Champions League, the Magpies are fighting to close that exit route.
Liverpool are not alone in watching. They rarely are at this level.
Klopp, Salah and the memory bank
While the transfer market swirls, Jürgen Klopp has offered a reminder of what Liverpool are trying to replace.
Speaking to ESPN, the former Liverpool manager opened up on his relationship with Salah, admitting there were clashes along the way but insisting the pair are now close.
“We are friends now,” Klopp said. He spoke of the difficulty of being both manager and friend, of making decisions players hate, and of the way good memories eventually outmuscle all the rest. “The strongest thing in life is good memories,” he added. “Right now we share them and so we are friends and now he’s at the World Cup.”
Those memories define an era. They also underline the scale of the task in front of Liverpool’s recruitment team. You do not simply “replace” Salah; you build the next act.
Spurs, Gakpo and a crowded market
Even away from Anfield, the winger market is tightening.
Former Tottenham full-back Alan Hutton has urged his old club to get serious about Cody Gakpo. He believes the Dutchman would fix a long-standing weakness in Spurs’ wide areas, especially given recent injuries to Odobert, Kudus and Kulusevski. Hutton highlighted Gakpo’s versatility, experience and winning mentality, arguing he could both supply and score for forwards like Solanke and Richarlison and slot through the middle when needed.
Clubs across Europe are chasing the same profiles: wide forwards who score, create, and can move inside. Liverpool are competing in a market where every misstep is punished.
The Diomande dilemma
And so the focus returns to Diomande.
Sky Sports News report that the winger prefers a move to PSG and already has a five-year contract agreed in principle. PSG and Leipzig still need to find common ground on the fee, and that sliver of uncertainty is the only door left ajar for Liverpool.
They could, in theory, try to blow PSG out of the water with a huge bid. They could test Leipzig’s resolve with a number that Paris will not match. But money is only half the battle when a player has already chosen his stage.
PSG, back-to-back Champions League winners, can offer Diomande the platform he craves. Liverpool, for all their history and ambition, are fighting from behind on this one.
The question now is simple: do they chase a lost cause, or pivot decisively to the next name on the list and start building the post-Salah era somewhere else on the pitch?
