Liverpool's Pursuit of Mbaye: What You Need to Know

Liverpool’s late-window hunt for a new forward has taken them back to Ligue 1, but the picture around PSG talent Mbaye is far less clear-cut than it first looked.

Reports of a coordinated swoop for two of the French champions’ young attackers had stirred talk of a bold double move. Yet, according to French journalist Romain Molina, Liverpool’s interest in Mbaye is real but nowhere near top of the agenda.

“Truthfully, Mbaye is on Liverpool’s shortlist but not as the No. 1 choice,” Molina said, underlining that the 19-year-old is admired at Anfield but not driving their final-week strategy.

The dynamic around the deal is being shaped as much by the agent game as by club-to-club negotiations. Mbaye is represented by Jorge Mendes, a super-agent who has built his reputation on leveraging his network at key clubs to unlock moves late in the window.

Molina stressed that this could be decisive. Mendes, he said, is confident there will be something for Mbaye before the deadline and will lean on the clubs where his influence is strongest to get a transfer over the line. Liverpool, at this stage, do not appear to be that club.

The contrast with Mbaye’s teammate Barcola is stark. While both PSG youngsters have been linked with Liverpool, the Premier League side are understood to be pushing harder for Barcola, whose representation operates in a very different way to Mendes.

“That’s not where he’s most influential, especially with the price currently being asked by Paris Saint-Germain,” Molina noted of Mendes’ position in this particular negotiation, hinting that the figures on the table are testing even the most powerful intermediaries.

Barcola is represented by Moussa Sissoko, and Molina drew a sharp line between the two agents’ approaches. For Mendes, he argued, the key factor is where he has connections in the boardroom and how he can shape a deal to his advantage. With Sissoko, it is the player’s wishes that dominate, even if that means clashing with clubs or taking a more confrontational route to secure the right move. In his words, Sissoko is prepared “to go to war” for his clients.

As the numbers climb, so does the risk. PSG are expected to demand a combined fee well beyond £150m if both Mbaye and Barcola are to leave in the same window. For Liverpool, that level of outlay on two emerging forwards would represent a major strategic call, not just a late-window flourish.

If Mbaye’s price or his position on the shortlist proves too much of a hurdle, Liverpool are not short of alternatives. Their recruitment team has already lined up other wide options: Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Bournemouth’s Rayan have all been monitored as potential solutions for the flanks.

Another name gaining traction is Köln forward Said El Mala. The versatile attacker, capable of playing on either wing or through the middle, had been heavily linked with Borussia Dortmund earlier in the summer. That route now appears closed. Sky Germany report that Dortmund have stepped away from the race, a development that could open the door for Liverpool if they choose to activate his reported €50m (£42.7m) release clause.

The idea of raiding Paris for two of Europe’s most exciting young forwards will always capture imaginations on Merseyside. Yet the financial reality is blunt, and Molina’s information suggests Liverpool may ultimately pivot towards a different, as yet unnamed, target if the Mbaye numbers do not move.

The clock is ticking. With the window heading into its final stretch, Liverpool’s next move in the market will say a lot about how bold they are prepared to be in reshaping their attack for the seasons to come.