Aston Villa Hijacks Liverpool's Chase for PSG Star Ibrahim Mbaye

Aston Villa hijack Liverpool’s long-term chase for PSG starlet Ibrahim Mbaye in €55m coup

Liverpool have spent the summer shadowing Ibrahim Mbaye. Now they’ll have to watch him in claret and blue.

While Anfield’s recruitment team poured their energy into securing Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, Mbaye was kept warm in the background as the contingency plan. That safety net has just been ripped away.

Once Liverpool finally received the green light on Thursday for Barcola’s £100 million move to Merseyside – still subject to a medical and final confirmation – the door swung open for a rival. Aston Villa didn’t hesitate. They stormed through it.

The Midlands club, suddenly cash-rich after major sales including Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa, moved decisively to strike a deal with PSG for Mbaye worth €55 million ($64 million). A player Liverpool had tracked for months will now be lining up against them in the Premier League instead of for them.

Valuation stand-off opens the door

This is a transfer born out of disagreement. RMC Sport reported last week that Liverpool and PSG were far apart on Mbaye’s valuation, echoing the tense negotiations over Barcola.

PSG wanted closer to £60 million ($82 million) for their 18-year-old Senegalese winger. Liverpool saw him as a £43 million ($59 million) asset. Villa’s €55 million agreement lands far nearer to the figure Liverpool had in mind than PSG’s original stance – but it’s Unai Emery’s side, not Jürgen Klopp’s successors, who have capitalised.

With Barcola’s move not yet officially over the line and the player still awaiting a medical, Liverpool’s margin for error has shrunk. Any late hitch, and the alternative they had quietly lined up all summer has vanished.

David Ornstein of The Athletic confirmed on Friday that Villa had reached an agreement with PSG. The twist is that Villa were never viewed as favourites for Mbaye. They had been monitoring him since January, yet always lurked on the fringes of the race. When the moment came, they were the ones ready to act.

From Versailles to Paris – and now Birmingham

Mbaye’s rise has been rapid and ruthless. PSG picked him up in 2018 from FC Versailles 78, the same youth club that once helped shape Thierry Henry before his move to Monaco. Mbaye was just 10.

By 16, he had already made history, becoming the youngest-ever player to start a competitive match for PSG. In 2024, he forced his way properly into Luis Enrique’s first-team plans, racking up 39 appearances for a side that has now won back-to-back Champions League titles.

His talent has travelled beyond club football. Mbaye featured as a rotation option for Senegal at the 2026 World Cup and scored in the group stage against France – a statement goal on the biggest stage, from a teenager still learning his craft.

As speculation around his future intensified, the signs at PSG were clear. Mbaye was left out of Enrique’s matchday squad for the opening Ligue 1 fixture, a strong indicator that the club were preparing for life without him.

Villa’s bold rebuild gathers pace

Aston Villa’s move for Mbaye is not an isolated splash. It is part of a full-scale reshaping of a Europa League-winning squad.

Fresh from lifting the 2026 Europa League, Villa have torn into their core. Out have gone key figures from that run: Morgan Rogers to Manchester City, Konsa to Arsenal, Watkins to Al Hilal, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, Emiliano Martinez to Chelsea, Lucas Digne to PSG, with Tammy Abraham also expected to depart for Ipswich Town.

In their place, a new spine is taking shape. Jordi Manzambi has arrived from Freiburg, Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea, Zion Suzuki from Parma, Joao Gomes from Wolves, Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico Madrid, Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham, among others.

Mbaye now becomes the headline attacking addition – a young, high-ceiling winger dropped into a squad being aggressively retooled for another tilt at Europe and a deeper push in the Premier League.

For Liverpool, the focus stays on finalising Barcola. For Villa, the message is different: they are no longer content to sit outside the elite. They are raiding it.