Liverpool (GNP): Liverpool are closing in on a £120 million deal for Bradley Barcola following a breakthrough in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The France international has been Liverpool’s main transfer target throughout the summer, with talks previously stalling over PSG’s £145 million valuation of the 23-year-old, before further negotiations on Thursday night produced an outline agreement on a compromise fee.
Under the terms reached, Liverpool have agreed to pay a guaranteed sum of just over £100 million, with performance-based add-ons tied to individual and team success taking the overall package to around £120 million.
Although the full structure of the deal has not yet been finalised, Thursday’s breakthrough, combined with PSG’s willingness to lower its asking price, is expected to see Barcola complete his move to Merseyside before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. Liverpool were informed last month that the player was keen on the move, having slipped down the pecking order under PSG manager Luis Enrique.
That shift in standing at PSG has been building for some time. Barcola has two years remaining on his contract but has told the club he will not sign an extension, while PSG have added Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche, and Mika Godts to their attacking options this summer and have since left him out of matchday squads altogether.
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Signed from Lyon for €45 million in 2023, Barcola played a prominent role in PSG’s rise under Enrique, including their Champions League triumph, but the manager’s preference for a front line of Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the club’s biggest matches last season prompted him to consider his future.
Should the move go through, and sources close to the deal caution it is not yet complete, Barcola would become potentially the second most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history behind Alexander Isak’s £125 million transfer.
The club, however, has still to find a replacement for Mohamed Salah on the right side of attack, having had two bids for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh rejected and made no formal offer for Crystal Palace forward Ismaïla Sarr despite making enquiries about his availability.
