It is, almost, official now Liverpool fans. With the transfer window closing on Tuesday, many were worried that the Reds would run out of time in their pursuit of Bradley Barcola. However, after some positive noises on Thursday, the deal is now incredibly close to be completed.
That's because, as reported by David Ornstein of the Athletic on Saturday morning, Liverpool "have finalised an agreement" with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Bradley Barcola. The fee is slightly higher than what was reported a few days ago. The Reds will pay a guaranteed fee of €125 million, around £107 million, with €20 million (£17m) in achievable performance based add-ons.
According to Ben Jacobs of Talk Sport, PSG have used other transfer fees from this summer as a benchmark. He references Morgan Rogers' £117 million move to Chelsea and Elliot Anderson's transfer to Manchester City for £116 million, while les Parisiens were determined to surpass the total pack of €140 million that Real Madrid paid RB Leipzig for Yan Diomandé, another young winger.
Barcola will sign a five-year contract and is set to travel to Merseyside to undergo his medical over the weekend. The 23 year old has not been involved in any of PSG's four competitive fixtures so far this season, clearly no longer in Luis Enrique's plans.
Les Rouge-et-Bleu's front three remains Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé alongside Désiré Doué, while they have also signed Ferran Torres, Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche this summer, so are pretty well stocked in forward areas. Thus, Liverpool target Ibrahim Mbaye is seemingly on his way to Aston Villa for £47 million, while Barcola is heading to John Lennon Airport.
That though is not to say that the French international has never been a key player for Paris Saint-Germain. Across three seasons at the Parc des Princes, he made 152 appearances, of which 107 were starts, including starting 31 times in the Champions League, a key figure as PSG have secured back-to-back European titles.
Thus, Barcola is certainly a signing Liverpool fans should get ultra-excited about. It is just a shame that this has not been finalised a day or two earlier, thereby allowing the winger to be presented to the crowd ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.
Nevertheless, all eyes will be in Portman Road next Friday night for Liverpool's clash with Ipswich. Barcola's potential debut in Suffolk will surely be one of the main themes of the night. He is forecast to wear the number 29 shirt, following in the footsteps such club legends like Dominic Solanke, Arthur Melo and Fabio Borini.
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