Will Liverpool sign Bradley Barcola? This does feel like a deal that will eventually get over the line. The France international reportedly has no intention of signing an extension at Paris Saint-Germain, while the European champions are seemingly already replacing him. Maghnes Akliouche has joined PSG from Monaco for €50 million, while les Rouge-et-Bleu are also chasing Ajax attacker Mika Godts.
Thus, it does feel as though Barcola will end up at Anfield eventually, so could that day be sooner rather than later?
Well, as reported by Loïc Tanzi of L'Équipe on Friday, Liverpool are "expected to submit" an formal offer of €115 million (around £98.55 million) to PSG for Barcola, adding that the Reds "have decided to speed things up", with the start of the new Premier League season fast approaching.
He adds though that this bid "is still a long way off" les Parisiens' valuation of €150 million, having maintained publicly that Barcola is "not for sale". However, Tanzi notes why this transfer is likely to get done for two key reasons. First, he documents that the 23 year old is "eager to join [Liverpool] as quickly as possible", having already agreed personal terms with the Reds.
Meantime, head coach Luis Enrique, sporting director Luís Campos and Qatari President Nasser al-Khelaïfi are all in agreement that "no player will be kept against his will". An opening formal offer is a step in the right direction for this transfer actually coming to fruition.
As back-to-back Champions League winners, which has driven enormous revenues, as well as the fact they are backed by a nation state, les Rouge-et-Bleu are under no financial pressure to sell. Nevertheless, Barcola was not a regular starting figure, with Lucho's first-choice attack featuring Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué either side of Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé. That is before you even factor in the arrival of Akliouche, as well as the fact they are chasing the aforementioned Godts and Ferran Torres.
Thus, it seems to be within all parties interests to get this over the line. PSG's €150 million valuation, around £128.5 million, is astronomically high, but not one Liverpool could not get close to. Just last summer, the Reds broke the British transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116 million. They then shattered their own record a few weeks later to recruit Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for £125 million, plus £5 million in add-ons.
Thus, if the Reds believe it to be the right player, they are willing to spend big, even if days, or possibly even weeks, of negotiations between the two clubs are likely ahead.
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