Liverpool are preparing to start talks with PSG to sign Ibrahim Mbaye this summer, which will be in addition to already ongoing talks to sign Bradley Barcola.
Barcola is Liverpool’s top priority this summer after they failed to sign the Frenchman last year. PSG want around £125m, while Liverpool are only prepared to pay around £105m, as per widespread reports, but there is confidence on both sides that a deal can be struck before the 1 September Premier League transfer deadline at 11 pm.
However those negotiations go, there is a plan to also sign PSG’s 18-year-old talent Mbaye, who is one of the most exciting young players in Europe.
There is a consensus that Andoni Iraola is the perfect manager to get the best out of Mbaye after the terrific way he handled young talents like Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen, Rayan and Eli Junior Kroupi during his time at Bournemouth.
Liverpool set to begin transfer fee talks with PSG over deal to bring Ibrahim Mbaye to Anfield.
According to Mark Brus, reporting in the Daily Briefing on Substack, Liverpool are preparing to start talks with PSG to facilitate a deal to bring Mbaye to Merseyside.
Brus reports: “ Liverpool are accelerating their efforts to strengthen their attack with Ibrahim Mbaye as we enter a crucial period in the summer transfer window.
“One source told me: ‘Liverpool are preparing to start official talks for Mbaye. PSG are expected to demand a transfer fee between €40m and €50m [£34.3m-£42.9m] for him. Mbaye likes the Liverpool project and sees it as his priority.’”
Mbaye is described as being ‘eager to leave’ Paris, and with Liverpool his preferred club, this should not be a complicated deal to complete, although the ongoing talks for Barcola will have some bearing on how talks go.
If Liverpool sign Mbaye and Barcola, it will see PSG receive around £140m-£150m depending on the final fees for each player.
Why is Mbaye so highly rated?
You may look at Mbaye’s numbers for the 2025/26 season and wonder why Liverpool and other top clubs rate him so highly, but clubs look at a lot more than just goals and assists.
His three goals and two assists are hardly game-breaking stats, but given that he played just 997 minutes all season, it’s not fair to expect huge numbers like the 33 goals and 28 assists Barcola has recorded over the last two years.
That said, anyone who watched Senegal at the World Cup would have been blown away by the speed, tight control and chance creation that 18-year-old Mbaye is capable of.
The eye test alone is enough to see the potential the teenager has.
— Anfield Sector (@AnfieldSector) August 4, 2026