Liverpool Pursue Wingers as Real Madrid Reject Endrick Loan

Liverpool’s summer plan in attack is clear: two new wingers through the door, and, if possible, a high‑end striker to go with them. The reality of the market, and Real Madrid’s stance on one of the game’s most-hyped young forwards, is proving far less cooperative.

Barcola still the priority, Mbaye stalls

Bradley Barcola remains the headline target. Liverpool have had personal terms in place with the PSG winger for some time and still see him as the key piece in their wide rebuild before the window closes.

For weeks, it looked as though Barcola’s teammate Ibrahim Mbaye would follow the same path. He too has an agreement in principle with Liverpool, but the deal has hit a wall at club level.

PSG want around €70m. Liverpool, according to French reporter Fabrice Hawkins, are not willing to go beyond €50m. That gap has dragged on long enough for Fenway Sports Group to pivot.

Minteh emerges as the alternative

The change of course has taken Liverpool to Brighton and to Yankuba Minteh.

Liverpool have already tested Brighton’s resolve twice, with the latest offer reaching £60m. Brighton have resisted, but Minteh has agreed personal terms with the Anfield club, and there is a growing sense among those close to the talks that one more push will break the stalemate.

A third bid, expected to land in the £65m–£70m range, is viewed as the figure that could finally draw a yes from Brighton and deliver Minteh as the second winger alongside Barcola.

While those negotiations rumble on, Liverpool have been working another angle entirely.

Liverpool ask Real Madrid about Endrick

Behind the scenes, the club have explored the centre-forward market, with Alexander Isak currently the only fit senior striker available to Andoni Iraola while Hugo Ekitike recovers from a ruptured Achilles. Ekitike is not expected back until around the turn of the year, leaving a sizeable gap through the middle.

That context has pushed Liverpool to look beyond the wings. According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, they even picked up the phone to Real Madrid to ask about Endrick.

Romano described a flurry of interest in the Brazilian teenager over the past few days. Roma and AC Milan sounded out his camp to see whether a loan might be possible. Aston Villa made their own enquiry two weeks ago.

Every time, the reply from Madrid was the same: no.

“No chance, no chance, no chance, no doors open for Endrick,” Romano reported.

Liverpool tried to go a step further. They explored both a loan with a buy option and a permanent deal built around a major proposal. In short, they asked if there was any route, at any price, to take Endrick out of the Bernabeu this summer.

Perez and Mourinho make their call

The answer, again, was firm. Romano made it clear that this is not just a bureaucratic refusal from the club’s hierarchy. It is a decision driven directly by president Florentino Perez and head coach Jose Mourinho.

Both want Endrick to stay at Real Madrid. Both see him in their squad now, wearing the number nine shirt and fighting for his place.

“As of today Real Madrid don’t want the player to go,” Romano said. “They want him to stay with the shirt number nine.”

That stance shuts the door on Liverpool’s immediate hopes of adding the Brazilian to their forward line. It also leaves Roma, Milan and Aston Villa in the same position: watching and waiting.

January already on the horizon

There is one small crack in Madrid’s position, and it sits a few months down the line.

Romano stressed that while there is “nothing in terms of chances as of today,” the situation could shift if Endrick struggles for minutes in the first half of the season. Should he fail to play regularly by the end of December, Real Madrid will not rule out revisiting the idea of a loan, similar to his spell at Lyon last season.

“For sure it’s a situation to follow in January,” Romano added. “But for now Endrick is staying and he’s prepared to fight for the Real Madrid shirt.”

For Liverpool, that means the focus snaps back to the wings and to the deals they can actually do before deadline day. Barcola remains the priority, Minteh the emerging partner, and the hunt for a long-term number nine continues into a market where the most coveted young striker has just been told to stay exactly where he is.