Liverpool Targets PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye Amid Barcola Stalemate
Liverpool’s post‑Mohamed Salah rebuild is starting to take shape – and the next piece may not be the Paris Saint‑Germain forward everyone expected.
For much of the summer, Bradley Barcola has headlined Liverpool’s wish list, the marquee wide forward earmarked to help fill the void left by Salah’s departure after nine glittering years at Anfield. Yet as negotiations over Barcola drag and valuations remain miles apart, another name from Paris has accelerated into view.
According to RMC Sport, Liverpool are now expected to reach an agreement with PSG for Senegalese striker Ibrahim Mbaye, an 18-year-old talent regarded as one of the brightest young forwards in French football.
A historic PSG clear-out
This is not just a one-off sale for the European champions. PSG are in the middle of what has been described in France as a “historic” summer of outgoing business. They have already banked close to €150 million from the departures of Kang-in Lee to Atletico Madrid, Goncalo Ramos to Milan and Randal Kolo Muani to Juventus.
Mbaye looks set to be the next name on that list.
He has two years left on his current deal in Paris and carries a price tag in the €35–45 million bracket. For a teenager with limited first-team opportunities, that figure underlines how highly he is rated inside the French game.
The problem for Mbaye is not talent. It is traffic. PSG’s attack is crowded and could become even more congested. The club have been pushing for an A-list addition earlier in the window, with Julian Alvarez and Yan Diomande among the big attacking names on their radar. In that context, a clear route to regular starts under Luis Enrique looks distant for an 18-year-old trying to break through.
Liverpool, and others, have sensed the opening.
Liverpool vs Leverkusen for Mbaye
RMC Sport report that Liverpool are pushing to bring Mbaye to Merseyside, with the player attracted by the prospect of developing in the Premier League. But they are not alone.
Bayer Leverkusen are in the race and, according to Canal+ journalist Olivier Tallaron, may even hold the advantage at this stage. His assessment on X (formerly Twitter) contrasts with the more optimistic tone around Liverpool’s chances from RMC, setting up a genuine tug-of-war between Anfield and the Bundesliga champions.
PSG’s valuation of Mbaye – and the level of competition for his signature – ensures this is no bargain hunt. Yet Liverpool’s interest is firm, and crucially, it is not a simple either-or with Barcola.
Mbaye and Barcola: not one or the other
FourFourTwo understands that Liverpool’s pursuit of Mbaye is a separate operation to their ongoing chase of Barcola. The club do not see the Senegalese teenager as a fallback option.
The profiles are different. Barcola is primarily a left-winger, a slippery, creative presence cutting in from the flank. Mbaye, by contrast, is viewed mainly as a right-sided forward – the very lane Salah dominated for nearly a decade – though both can operate on either wing and through the middle.
That versatility matters. Liverpool’s attacking map is already crowded with multi-position players. New signing Victor Munoz, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike are all capable of operating off the left. Several can also play centrally or in the pocket behind a striker.
What remains unclear is how that puzzle will be arranged. Who locks down the left? Who leads the line? Who becomes the fixed presence on the right, if anyone?
Last season, Jeremie Frimpong and Dominik Szoboszlai both spent time working from the right, offering a different interpretation of the role – more hybrid midfielder or wing-back than classic touchline winger. The coaching staff have shown they are comfortable bending traditional positional labels.
That flexibility echoes Andoni Iraola’s approach at Bournemouth, where he frequently deployed right-footers on the right and left-footers on the left, resisting the modern obsession with inverted wingers. Alex Jimenez saw extended spells on the right before Marcus Tavernier emerged as first choice on the left towards the end of the campaign.
Drop Mbaye into that environment and the picture becomes even more intriguing. An 18-year-old right-sided forward, valued at up to €45 million, choosing between a title-winning Leverkusen project and the responsibility of inheriting Salah’s corridor at Anfield.
Barcola talks stuck on the numbers
All of this unfolds while the Barcola saga grinds on in the background.
Discussions between Liverpool and PSG over the French international are continuing, but the gap in valuation is significant. PSG are holding out for over €150 million. Liverpool, wary of detonating their wage and fee structure on a single deal, are refusing to go that high.
“Between the price set by the Parisian club (over €150 million) and the Reds' desire to avoid breaking the bank, a compromise will need to be found for the deal to go through,” RMC Sport report.
Right now, that compromise feels distant. The two sides, by all accounts, remain far apart.
So Liverpool pivot, without abandoning their primary target. They push on with Mbaye while waiting to see if PSG soften on Barcola. PSG, for their part, continue to cash in on assets to reshape their own squad around a new attacking star.
One club rebuilding an era after Salah. Another reshaping its identity after years of galáctico churn.
In the middle of it all, an 18-year-old Senegalese forward stands on the brink of a decision that could define the next decade of his career. Will his breakthrough come under the lights of Anfield or in the relentless, high-speed carousel of Leverkusen’s attack?
