Liverpool in talks to shatter transfer record, it's complete madness

Liverpool are heading towards a deal that would shatter their transfer record. It's absolutely mad.

There’s no question that Liverpool need a new forward as their current situation is just a complete mess. The Reds were already lacking last season and have since lost Mohamed Salah.

On top of that, Hugo Ekitike will be out for quite some time, limiting them further. Again, this is a squad that needed an injection of elite quality anyway.

Yan Diomande was priority no.1 but that’s not happening. He first picked Paris Saint-Germain over Liverpool and has now abandoned them in favour of Real Madrid. A tale as old as time.

So Liverpool have pivoted to Bradley Barcola. Anfield Watch first reported on the interest in Barcola back in April and it’s snowballed from there on the back of Diomande’s decision.

Ben Jacobs reports that Liverpool have held ‘preliminary talks’ about Barcola and a potential with with PSG. It was reported at the weekend that he wouldn’t be renewing his contract with the club, essentially forcing some sort of move.

But both Jacobs and the Athletic highlight the major problem here. PSG want €170m for Barcola, or around £145m. That’s £20m more than the British transfer record, which Liverpool set when buying Alexander Isak last summer.

It’s an outrageous amount of money for a player who doesn’t actually get into PSG’s first-choice XI. Barcola is supposed to be the kind of player you think can move up a level - a market opportunity was the term we heard in April.

But PSG value him as though he’s already moved up that level and then some. They’re asking for the kind of money you pay for one of the world’s best players.

It’s difficult to believe that Liverpool view him as that. At the same time, they’re running out of time and options. It really may all come together that we see another record-breaking transfer at Anfield - the third in a little over a year.

But this one seems genuinely mad.