Liverpool have made a major breakthrough in their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, who has given a 'verbal agreement' to join the club, according to French publication L'Equipe.
Andoni Iraola's side have been searching for a top-class wide forward to compensate for the departure of Mohamed Salah and the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer.
Salah's Besiktas move collapses
Mohamed Salah appears unlikely to join Besiktas after transfer discussions broke down, reports the Mirror. Besiktas sporting director Onder Ozen said his club had withdrawn from talks with the 34-year-old free agent.
Ozen stated: "We contacted Salah, this also involved a financing model. Salah is a global star, a respected athlete. We met with Salah three times before the financial part of the negotiations was discussed. Up to this point, everything was smooth. When the financial side began, the initial smoothness slowed down from July 21st onwards. Requests began to arrive that would both disrupt the flow of information and create a deadlock in the financial process."
He added: "I can assume that a respected athlete like Salah was unaware of this. The club has a policy, and it cannot deviate from that policy, our President has very clearly identified his position and has stayed there. I don't have a chance to say 'yes' or 'no', Besiktas's offer, made under its own terms, is clear. If a response comes to this offer, it can be evaluated. But Besiktas will not make another offer. They said they are also in talks with another club, maybe they will get a result from there. The last offer we made to Salah is the final point that does not harm Besiktas' club identity."
Salah left Liverpool this summer after scoring 257 goals and providing 123 assists in 442 appearances.
Barcola timeline emerges
L'Equipe reported that Barcola has given his verbal agreement to join Liverpool, but a deal may take time due to a significant difference in valuation between the clubs. PSG are said to value the 23-year-old at £145m, citing Morgan Rogers' £117m move to Chelsea as justification.
Barcola has reportedly chosen not to renew his contract with PSG, and manager Luis Enrique is said to want only fully committed players available for selection, potentially limiting Barcola's game time if he stays.
