PSG Targets Liverpool Stars Diomande and Akliouche

Paris Saint-Germain have not just nudged Liverpool off course this summer. They’ve barged them out of the fast lane.

First Yan Diomande. Now Maghnes Akliouche.

Two of Europe’s most coveted young attacking talents are heading towards Paris, and Liverpool are watching a familiar story unfold from the wrong side of the glass.

PSG move fast, Liverpool left waiting

Word first emerged that Akliouche had given the green light to a move to PSG, with talks already under way between the French champions and Monaco over a deal for the 24-year-old attacking midfielder. Liverpool have tracked him for some time, seeing him as one of several creative solutions for a reshaped front line.

They may be too late. Again.

Because while Akliouche edges closer to the Parc des Princes, the headline act of Liverpool’s summer wish list appears to have made up his mind.

Diomande, the £100m-rated RB Leipzig winger and one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, has chosen PSG as his next destination if he leaves Germany in this window. That’s the line from France, where RMC Sport first detailed PSG’s readiness to strike once the player signalled he wanted the move, and it was reinforced by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, reporting from the World Cup.

The 19-year-old Ivory Coast international believes in the PSG project shaped by Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Luis Campos and wants to play under Luis Enrique. He sees Paris as the stage on which he can compete for major trophies every year and chase the kind of career that ends with Ballon d’Or conversations, not just Champions League qualification battles.

Liverpool, for their part, had been prepared to go close to €100m for him. Leipzig pushed back, holding out for nearer €130m and trying to extend a contract that already runs to 2030 after his move from Leganes last summer.

Now, RMC say a five-year agreement between PSG and Diomande, brokered through Roc Nation Sport, is in place. The French club still need to find common ground with Leipzig on the fee and insist they will not “go crazy”, sticking to a more disciplined approach that has been in place for over a year. Leipzig’s asking price is thought to hover around €130m. PSG do not want to go that high.

The door is not completely shut. But the handle is in PSG’s hand.

A brutal reality for Liverpool

For Liverpool, the optics are harsh. Mohamed Salah is edging towards the exit and the forward line needs both depth and star quality. Diomande ticked every box: age, profile, upside, global appeal. Losing him to one of the few clubs with more pulling power than Liverpool is not just a tactical setback. It’s a statement about the current market.

There’s no dressing it up. This is a blow.

Yes, PSG and Leipzig are still haggling. Yes, Liverpool could, in theory, crash the party with a huge bid. But with Diomande’s preference leaning so clearly towards Paris, as reported by Sky Sports News and others, Liverpool’s best card may already be off the table.

Salah, Klopp and the weight of memories

All of this plays out against the backdrop of Salah’s looming departure and the emotional residue of his era at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp, speaking to ESPN, laid bare the evolution of his relationship with the Egyptian. The pair clashed at times, as any elite manager and elite forward do, but those frictions have faded into something deeper.

“We are friends now,” Klopp said. He explained how, during the working years, players often feel their manager is anything but a friend, such are the decisions and disappointments involved. Time, and trophies, change the perspective.

“The strongest thing in life is good memories,” he added. “They are stronger than pretty much anything else. And right now we share them and so we are friends and now he’s at the World Cup.”

Those memories are priceless. They don’t score goals next season. Liverpool need a new face on the flank who can carry some of Salah’s burden, and the market knows it.

New targets, old problems

With Diomande drifting towards Paris, attention naturally swings to the alternatives already on Liverpool’s radar.

Bradley Barcola is one of them. Fabrizio Romano has repeatedly stressed Liverpool’s admiration for the PSG winger, noting that he was on their list in the summer of 2025 and remains there for 2026. The interest is not new, and it has not gone away.

The situation around Barcola is murky. Sources in France insist he is not for sale. Romano’s information is different: he maintains the situation is “still open”, that there is movement around the player and a possibility he could leave during this window. PSG, for now, have not given the green light.

If Diomande walks through the door at the Parc des Princes, that stance might soften. A domino effect could yet work in Liverpool’s favour.

Another name under consideration is Said El Mala of Cologne. The 19-year-old winger, who scored 13 goals and supplied five assists in 34 Bundesliga games last season, saw a move to Brentford collapse after he rejected the switch in search of a bigger stage. Liverpool and Newcastle have both been linked in the past and remain in the conversation.

Cologne, according to reports, are growing uneasy about the lack of firm offers and want a fee in the region of £40m to fund their own rebuild. That nervousness could create an opening for Liverpool if they decide El Mala fits the profile for their wide options.

Then there is Rayan of Bournemouth, currently with Brazil at the World Cup and expected to feature again against Japan in Houston. He started in the 3-0 win over Scotland, replacing the injured Raphinha, and could keep his place with the Barcelona man still a doubt.

Rayan has been linked with Liverpool and a possible reunion with Andoni Iraola, who brought him to England in January. The winger has a £130m release clause that reportedly activates next January, though any deal this summer would likely be negotiated outside those terms.

Felix Nmecha is another name in the Liverpool rumour mill. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder burst into the World Cup spotlight with a dazzling start to the tournament for Germany, only to struggle in a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador. He will be under scrutiny again when Germany face Paraguay at Gillette Stadium, with Manchester United also watching closely.

And over at Newcastle, Bruno Guimaraes remains a long-standing object of admiration. The Magpies have already rejected a £55m bid from Arsenal and are now trying to tie him down to a new contract that would make him the highest-paid player in their history on £200,000 a week. Even so, it is understood he can leave for £60m after Newcastle missed out on the Champions League.

The market tightens, the clock ticks

All of this underlines the reality of Liverpool’s position. They are shopping in the same aisle as PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid and the Premier League’s richest. The players they want are the same ones every superclub wants.

In that environment, timing and conviction matter as much as money.

PSG have moved decisively. They have convinced Diomande that his future, and his Ballon d’Or dream, lies in Paris. They are closing in on Akliouche. They might yet be forced to sacrifice a Barcola to balance the equation.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are juggling options, price points and the looming need to replace one of the greatest forwards in their history.

They can still change the narrative of this window. They can still land a statement signing in attack. But the first big battle with PSG looks lost, and the next move from Anfield will tell us a lot about how they plan to live in this new transfer world, where hesitation is punished and the very best talent rarely waits.