James Pearce has dropped a major update on Liverpool’s attempts to sign Bradley Barcola, reporting that the Reds are set to table an opening bid for the Frenchman.
Pearce writes for The Athletic: “Liverpool are set to table an opening bid for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola. The France international has emerged as Liverpool’s top target in the transfer market as they look to replace Mohamed Salah, who left the club at the end of last season.
“Barcola, who has two years remaining on his current deal, is understood to be keen on moving to Anfield.
“As a result, Liverpool are ready to formalise their interest and open negotiations with the European champions.
“PSG have indicated that they value Barcola at around £145million but Liverpool have no intention of going that high to secure his services.
“They will look to do a deal closer to £100m given that the player has made it clear he won’t sign a new contract at PSG and wants to embark on a new challenge on Merseyside.”
Barcola is the key signing Liverpool need but this deal will likely take time to complete
Liverpool spent the entirety of the summer transfer window trying to sign Alexander Isak, before eventually completing a £125m Premier League record deal on Deadline Day.
I don’t think this transfer will take as long to get done, but given that there is a £45m gap between how the two clubs value Barcola, it will likely take time to reach a compromise.
In my opinion, PSG have led with their £145m valuation not because they think Liverpool will actually pay that but because it gives them the best chance of maximising the fee they will eventually get.
If I had to guess, based purely on this summer’s market and how good Barcola really is, this will probably get done at around the £115m mark based on what Liverpool paid for Florian Wirtz last summer.
The two players are at similar levels and ages, but when a player wants to leave, it will always hurt the selling club’s ability to negotiate, which places PSG in a precarious position.
Michael first started supporting Liverpool after Istanbul in 2006. He has since followed the Reds with passion and curiosity, founding Rousing the Kop, Anfield Central while briefly co-owning Anfield Watch. Michael lives in Cape Town, South Africa.