Liverpool have confirmed they have agreed a deal to sign Djylian N'Guessan from Saint-Etienne
Djylian N'Guessan signs in at Liverpool
Djylian N'Guessan signs in at Liverpool (Image: Liverpool FC)
View Image
Liverpool have agreed the €5m signing of Djylian N'Guessan from Saint-Etienne. The 18-year-old striker has signed a pre-contract agreement that will see him become a Reds player in January.
N’guessan will spend the first half of the Ligue 1 campaign on loan at Brest, with Liverpool keen for him to gain further top-flight experience. The ECHO reported on deadline day that the Reds had swooped for N'Guessan after being impressed by his performances for France in last summer's UEFA Under-17 European Championship, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
He made his professional debut for Saint-Etienne in January 2025, aged just 16, in Ligue 1, and made eight appearances in the French top flight before the club suffered relegation.
N'Guessan featured only three times in Ligue 2 last season but scored his first senior goal in the Coupe de France.
At international level, the attacker played in seven matches for France at the 2025 U20 World Cup en route to a fourth-placed finish and becomes the latest youngster to join the Reds.
Armin Pesci, Mor Talla N'Diaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Samuel Martinez have all moved to Anfield in the last 12 months amid the club’s commitment to recruit the best emerging young talent.
While on deadline day, the Reds completed the £30m signing of highly-rated Belgian goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, who will remain with Genk for the campaign ahead.
As with Brughmans, N'Guessan's signing falls under the remit of the club's Global Talent team, led by Matt Newberry
Senior stars Bradley Barcola, Victor Munoz, Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo also moved to Anfield during the summer window, and while Andoni Iraola insists he is happy with Liverpool’s transfer business, he hinted he did not get everything he wanted.
Speaking on Thursday, he said: “I’m very happy with all the signings we’ve made. I know the next question – ‘Do you want more signings in other positions?’
“At the end the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position.
“There were other options we decided not to take, for different reasons. Sometimes it is sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have, sometimes it is economical reasons as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements.
“But I’m happy now I know what we have, I have a lot of quality in the team and now it is the moment for us, for the players, for me to develop what we have.”