Liverpool Targets Bradley Barcola as Salah Successor
Liverpool’s search for a successor to Mohamed Salah is narrowing in on one name: Bradley Barcola.
The Premier League club have already moved once in the wide areas this summer, bringing in Victor Munoz from Osasuna, but that deal was never going to be the end of their work out wide. Salah’s departure at the end of last season left a hole that demands an elite-level answer, not just extra depth.
For weeks, RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande had been earmarked as that answer. Liverpool went as far as submitting a bid, only to watch the forward slide towards a move to Real Madrid. The plan had to change. Quickly.
It has led them to Paris and to Barcola, a left-sided winger at Paris Saint-Germain who, according to multiple reports, is reluctant to sign a new deal at the Parc des Princes and is open to a move to Anfield.
Barcola keen, Liverpool ready – but PSG hold the key
On Friday, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano outlined the state of play. Talks are active between Liverpool, PSG and the player’s camp. The sticking point is clear: the fee.
There is no suggestion of an issue over salary, length of contract or role in the team. By all accounts, Barcola likes what he hears from Liverpool. He is described as “very keen” on the move and “excited” by the project on Merseyside.
The problem sits in Paris. PSG want to be properly paid.
Liverpool are expected to table a bid and, from Romano’s information, an agreement with the player is viewed as a formality once the clubs align on a price. That alignment could take time. PSG have already lost several attacking options this summer and are still juggling other pieces of business, so they are in no rush to let another key forward walk out the door without having replacements lined up.
Nothing is described as imminent. Talk of a bid being “prepared” is not seen as the decisive factor. The real question is how far Liverpool are willing to go financially to get a deal over the line.
Bayern watching – but not competing
In the background sits Bayern Munich, watching the situation but, crucially for Liverpool, not acting.
Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk reports that Bayern have tracked Barcola for the last two summers and kept regular contact with his representatives. The 23-year-old remains on their shortlist, and they even checked in again this summer to gauge his feelings about the future, with his PSG contract running until 2028 and no extension talks currently underway.
That lack of renewal makes him a depreciating asset from PSG’s point of view, “cheaper and cheaper every year,” as Falk puts it. Just not cheap enough for Bayern right now.
For the Bundesliga side, Barcola is simply too expensive in this window. For Liverpool, he is not. Falk says Liverpool are “closer” to the deal, their need sharpened by Diomande’s expected move to Real Madrid and the urgency to bring in a high-level wide forward.
Bayern’s interest is more strategic and longer term. Their thinking links Barcola to the future of Michael Olise. The German club expect Olise to stay this summer, but beyond that, nothing is guaranteed. If Olise does not sign a new contract and Bayern are forced into a sale down the line, Barcola is viewed as the “number one option” to replace him.
That scenario only lives if Barcola remains at PSG for another season. If he chooses Liverpool now, Falk is blunt: there is “no chance” for Bayern.
For Liverpool, that is exactly the kind of leverage they have lacked in recent high-end attacking pursuits. The question now is simple: are they prepared to pay what it takes to turn Barcola’s enthusiasm into the signing that defines their post-Salah attack?
