Liverpool plot to agree massive £100m+ deal for second-rate star

Liverpool are desperate and it has us worried that they'll do something silly. This isn't the way to go.

Liverpool know they need to add more in attack. Desperately, really, as they were below par last season and have now lost Mohamed Salah. Hugo Ekitie’s injury means they’ll be without him until 2027 in all likelihood, too.

It’s out wide where the real long-term problem is as Liverpool badly lacked production last season. That’s why they had eyes on Yan Diomande this summer as their priority target.

Diomande is one of the most exciting wingers in the world at just 19. A mega-bid for him did make sense, though he’s now picked Paris Saint-Germain as his next destination.

Liverpool are left looking elsewhere, then, and reports suggest that Bradley Barcola could be the one. Anfield Watch exclusively revealed back in April that the club viewed Barcola as a market opportunity.

Now, two months on, we’re not sure they were right. Barcola certainly appears to be available but PSG aren’t exactly letting him go lightly.

The Athletic reports that they want over £116m for the winger. They mention Liverpool’s interest, too, as being real.

£116m. For a player PSG are actively trying to replace. It’s a ridiculous amount of money for what is objectively a ‘second rate’ star.

That isn’t to say Barcola isn’t brilliant - he is. He’s one of the best wingers in the world if you make that a top 10 or so. But he’s not in the same class as the truly elite.

Barcola, after all, isn’t a guaranteed starter for France. He’s certainly not at the level of Kylian Mbappe, nor Michael Olise. Desire Doue will overtake him soon, if he hasn’t already.

And while Barcola’s numbers in Ligue 1 are very good, they’re inflated by the heavy rotation at PSG. Rotation that frequently lets him play a bigger role than he usually would.

Liverpool can find better value than this. Maybe that’s this summer or maybe that’s with a tide over who can allow the club to assess the market again in 2027.