Liverpool Near £120m Deal for Bradley Barcola as Salah Successor

Liverpool are on the brink of landing Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal that would reshape their attack and send ripples through the Premier League.

An agreement in principle has been reached between the clubs for a package worth around £120million (€140m), with more than £100m of that guaranteed. The final details were being thrashed out on Thursday, with nothing yet signed but the framework of the move now in place.

On Liverpool’s side, sporting director Richard Hughes, CEO Billy Hogan and Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon have been driving negotiations. Across the table, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been handling talks for the European champions as they prepare to cash in on one of their brightest young forwards.

The move is not done. But it is close enough that other careers may soon be nudged in new directions.

Barcola in, questions for Gakpo

A transfer of this scale inevitably has consequences. Cody Gakpo’s future sits near the top of that list.

The Dutch forward has been repeatedly linked with Tottenham Hotspur and has also attracted interest from Manchester City this summer. If Barcola arrives to bolster Liverpool’s wide options, the pressure on Gakpo’s place in Andoni Iraola’s pecking order will only intensify — and so will outside interest.

For now, Liverpool’s energy is fixed on Barcola. The Athletic revealed earlier this week that Liverpool and PSG held key talks on Tuesday to bring clarity to the proposed transfer. Out of those discussions came one crucial point: Barcola is committed to joining the Merseyside club.

The 23-year-old has been Liverpool’s primary target to replace Mohamed Salah since early in the window. On July 29, The Athletic reported that Liverpool were preparing an opening bid. The pursuit has been patient rather than frantic, but the intent has never wavered.

A talent ready to step out of the shadows

Barcola still has two years left on his PSG contract, yet his stance has been firm. He does not want to extend his deal and has pushed for a new chapter. PSG’s response was telling: he was left out of the matchday squad for their Ligue 1-opening 2-2 draw against Rennes on Sunday.

At PSG, Barcola has lived in a crowded attacking stable. Operating mainly from the left but comfortable on either flank, the France international has been jostling with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue for minutes. As Luis Enrique’s side stormed to back-to-back Champions League titles, Barcola often found himself used from the bench in the latter stages.

Even from that role, he forced his way into the story of their season. In 2025-26, he made 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and providing seven assists as PSG retained the Ligue 1 title and lifted the Champions League again.

Stretch the lens back to his breakthrough and the numbers underline his consistency. Since emerging from Lyon’s academy and breaking into the first team in 2021-22, Barcola has racked up 39 goals and 37 assists in 152 senior appearances. Those are not the figures of a bit-part winger; they are the profile of a player ready to lead an attack rather than decorate it.

His summer only sharpened that impression. Barcola played a prominent role for France at the World Cup, featuring in all eight of their matches and scoring three goals on the biggest stage. That tournament hardened his reputation as one of Europe’s most dangerous young wide forwards.

The Salah heir Liverpool have been waiting for

For Liverpool, this chase has always been about more than numbers. It is about aura.

They need a wide forward who terrifies full-backs, who drags defences back towards their own goal, who restores that sense of inevitability every time the ball is worked to the flank. Salah did that for years. Barcola, with his direct running and ruthless intent, has been identified as the man to carry that burden into a new era.

He is quick, he is aggressive, and he is comfortable attacking from either side. That flexibility matters to Iraola, who wants his front line to be fluid and relentless, with wingers driving inside, pressing high and stretching the pitch.

If the final paperwork falls into place, Liverpool’s head coach will suddenly have another pacy, high-ceiling winger to unleash as he stamps a new, front-foot identity on this team.

The supporters have waited all summer for a signing that feels like a statement, not just a squad addition. Barcola is that signing. Now the question is simple: when the ink finally dries, how quickly can he turn all that anticipation into a new kind of fear for Premier League defences?