Liverpool are set to bid for Bradley Barcola - and PSG might be more open to negotiating if they can wrap up their latest signing
Liverpool are set to bid for Bradley Barcola - and PSG might be more open to negotiating if they can wrap up their latest signing(Image: Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)
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What a week it's been in the transfer market. A little over a week ago, we were trawling through the dregs of the rumour mill searching desperately for nuggets of truth amid an ever-increasing mass of wild claims and hyperbole.
How quickly things change. Since then, it emerged Vinicius Junior could leave Real Madrid (until it rather quickly turned out that was unrealistic), Jordan Henderson left Brentford ahead of an apparent move to Chelsea - really didn't see that one coming - and Florentino Perez trumped everyone by barging to the front of the queue for star of the summer, Yan Diomande.
Most importantly from our perspective, though, Liverpool are now in pole position for PSG contract rebel Bradley Barcola, and are set to bid for the 23-year-old France star as the Reds finally make moves to replace Mohamed Salah.
With the market moving fast, Liverpool can't afford to waste any time - so neither should we. Join us as we round up the latest gossip and rumours in the Reds transfer news column....
PSG breakthrough could get Barcola ball rolling
Liverpool showed interest in Maghnes Akliouche earlier in the summer but he now looks set to join PSG following a breakthrough in negotiations
Liverpool showed interest in Maghnes Akliouche earlier in the summer but he now looks set to join PSG following a breakthrough in negotiations
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(Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
The weekend saw a whole host of claims circling around Bradley Barcola with the general feeling being that Liverpool were about to make their move, and that has proved to be the case.
The Reds are now set for talks with PSG over the transfer of Barcola, who is valued at £140m by the European champions, according to our man Paul Gorst.
There have been a few conflicting reports of what exactly PSG's asking price is - long story short, it's quite big - but all are in agreement that Liverpool will only be making this signing if they can haggle the Parisians down a bit.
The world 'haggle' just feels so wrong in the context of millions of pounds, doesn't it?
James Pearce of The Athletic (and formerly of this parish) suggested Richard Hughes will be looking to do a deal around the £100m mark, which feels more realistic than what PSG are asking - given he was supposedly available for around £80m last year and, after a somewhat disappointing season on a personal level, is now into the final two years of his contract.
The loss of Diomande, though, who looked sure to sign for the nine-time French champions, did spark some concern that PSG might no longer be willing to play ball for Barcola.
But that pressure has been somewhat relieved by the overnight breakthrough that occurred between PSG and Monaco for Maghnes Akliouche, the 24-year-old French playmaker who was linked with Liverpool earlier in the window.
Akliouche was touted as a more faithful Salah follow-up, despite being more of a creator - pretty much just for the fact he has a left foot, then - but he's been chased by PSG for months to no avail.
Until now, that is. Fabrizio Romano shared an update this morning (July 30) in which he announced an "agreement [is] now at final stages between clubs. Details to be sorted and then here we go expected next."
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Now, if you paid attention to Romano's X (Twitter) spat with Sky Sport Germany's Florian Plettenberg earlier this week, you might be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at the "expected" 'here we go'.
It's safe to say that Romano's timings have come under a fair bit of fire in recent days, but the Italian maverick is still on the money more often than not - and L'Equipe have now followed suite with their own announcement that a fee has been agreed between the two clubs.
Though Pearce - making an appearance on the GiveMeSport Market Madness podcast - described Akliouche as "a possibility" for Liverpool as late as last week, this can't be seen as anything other than a win for the Reds.
Hopefully, PSG will now be more receptive to whatever Hughes has lined up for them, as it's probably safe to say this will be a tricky negotiation.
Inter interest in Jones "could be rekindled"
Curtis Jones' future is still unresolved after two failed attempts to sign him by Inter
Curtis Jones' future is still unresolved after two failed attempts to sign him by Inter (Image: ISI Photos via Getty Images)
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Yes, we've heard this one before. No, we still don't think they can afford him.
Like Donald Trump at a trophy lift, Inter just don't know when to call it a day when it comes to Curtis Jones. La Gazzetta dello Sport were back at it again on Wednesday (July 29) with the claim that "negotiations could be rekindled in the coming days" to see the Scouser potentially link up with John Stones at the San Siro.
Despite Inter's previous attempts to sign Jones falling well short of Liverpool's valuation, and Iraola seemingly happy to keep him around for one last hurrah or even a new contract if a move doesn't come to pass, "Inter's view on Jones hasn't changed".
Nor, it seems, has "the desire of Curtis himself for a new chapter in Nerazzurri history." Say what you will about Gazzetta, but they have a way with words.
Jones certainly didn't look happy after the final whistle blew on Liverpool's 1-0 win over Wrexham in New York last night, wrapped up in an argument with Dominik Szoboszlai, Jeremie Frimpong and Kostas Tsimikas and whipping out some pretty on-the-nose hand gestures.
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Ultimately, there's no point trying to read too much into it. We've had the idea for a while now that Curtis could be tempted to turn to pastures new, but all this does beg the question - where is Inter's money going to come from?
Gregorio Spigno explains in the same article that Inter's owners earmarked €40m for the entire summer, and the Italian champions have already committed €9m of that to Stones according to their breakdown of his wages and agents' commission.
On top of that, they still need to sign a wide player after proposed moves for Marco Palestra, Anan Khalaili and Djed Spence either never failed to materialise or broke down in the case of Khalaili.
Given the struggles they've encountered in getting one in, it's unclear how much this would cost. Spigno admits that in the hunt for a wing-back, "a broad selection process hasn't revealed a clear favourite, but it will certainly lead to a signing."
That doesn't sound entirely encouraging if you're an Inter fan. Look at the fees Inter have paid and received: they've signed Aleksandar Stankovic, Manuel Akanji and Ivan Provedel for a combined €41m; and they've sold Dumfries, Esposito and Carboni for a combined €26.5m.
That means they're already €14.5m net down on their initial €40m budget, without factoring in signing-on fees, wages and agents' fees, especially in the case of the Premier League-coddled Stones.
Inter have let Stefan de Vrij, Yan Sommer, Francesco Acerbi and Matteo Darmian leave on the expiry of their contracts, so that will relieve the wages a bit, but you would imagine that was already taken into account when this €40m budget was decided on.
So where's the money for Jones coming from? It's getting harder and harder to see this happening unless they get selling - probably starting with Davide Frattesi, who's been linked with a move away all summer.
If they could get €35m in for him, then sure. Maybe - just maybe - they could just about get Jones and a half decent wide player for €60.5m. But even that's pushing it in this economy.
Jones is going to cost most of that by himself, so unless Inter plan on lowballing Liverpool all summer long, at some point you'd imagine they move on to a more affordable target who isn't from the Premier League.
Liverpool make "direct contact" for Gilberto Mora
Gilberto Mora looks set for a big move when he eventually leaves Tijuana in his native Mexico - but Liverpool won't be short of competition
Gilberto Mora looks set for a big move when he eventually leaves Tijuana in his native Mexico - but Liverpool won't be short of competition(Image: Getty Images)
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According to a fresh report from TEAMtalk, Liverpool - and pretty much every other team in Europe by the looks of things - are very interested in Mexican prodigy Gilberto Mora.
Alongside the Reds, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, AC Milan, Napoli and Ajax are all reportedly interested.
And... breathe.
Now, that's not exactly news by itself. Mora was already hyped enough before the World Cup kicked off - from the minute he was included in Mexico's squad, he was set to become the country's youngest-ever men's World Cup player at just 17 years old - but that hype was proven justified by a string of excellent performances as El Tri reached the round of 16.
Liverpool's interest was rumoured heavily in the midst of that, and the folks at TEAMtalk have now claimed the Reds "have made direct contact" with Mora's representatives.
The catch is that Dortmund, Barca and Benfica "currently lead the pack in active interest", but Arsenal and Liverpool are said to be ahead of the rest of the Premier League rabble in the chase for his signature.
Mora, of course, can't transfer abroad until he's 18. Given he'll turn 18 in - checks calendar - 76 days, that opens up the possibility for January transfer but takes him off the table for this summer.
Tijuana, his current club, are said to have inserted a "structured release clause" into his contract, which will protect his value - in theory. For our money, they'll probably wish they hadn't if his list of suitors really is that long - as they could have had quite the bidding war on their hands.
Other reports today
Recently departed Liverpool manager Arne Slot is among the candidates to take over from Matthias Jaissle at Al Ahli, according to reliable journo Ben Jacobs on X (Twitter), with the flamboyant German set to take the reins at Newcastle United after the departure of Eddie Howe earlier today. Slot, for his part, prefers to stay in Europe. Money talks, though, and oil money talks louder.
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Liverpool and Everton, along with Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle and Sunderland, "have all been informed of the opportunity" to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu on a free, according to TEAMtalk. Though we don't see the Reds taking Tomiyasu's agents up on the offer given he's already training with Crystal Palace and appeared on the bench for their friendly against Lens on Tuesday (July 28), his Premier League experience and versatility across the back line could have come in handy.
And Atletico Madrid have only gone and done it. After months of back and forth with Barcelona - some of it absolutely hilarious - Atleti have actually reported Barca to the Spanish FA over their public courting of Julian Alvarez (The Athletic). All jokes aside, it's good to see them held to account for their antics. Alongside Real Madrid, Barca have made a habit of this kind of thing down the years, as Liverpool fans will remember all too well with a certain Philippe Coutinho.
Nonsense of the day
Francisco Conceicao of Juventus, taking a water break after presumably diving through the rabbit hole of his own transfer rumours
Francisco Conceicao of Juventus, taking a water break after presumably diving through the rabbit hole of his own transfer rumours(Image: Getty Images)
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Late last week, an alternative name in Liverpool's hunt for a winger quickly began doing the rounds. Apparently, Liverpool were taking a serious look at Juventus winger Francisco Conceicao.
Conceicao is a good player - you don't start 27 Serie A games for the Old Lady if you're a mug - but a goal return of 11 in 82 Juve appearances might have been the giveaway for some to start raising a few eyebrows.
Sure enough, looking into the source behind this rumour was like staring into an abyss. Believe it or not, CaughtOffside cited Football Italia who cited Calciomercato who cited Tuttosport who cited "rumours in England".
The zaniest part of the whole affair is that Tuttosport's description of "rumours of concrete interest" led to the whole story being treated as concrete by a whole host of outlets when it was really anything but.