Bradley Barcola will have his Liverpool medical this weekend as he closes in on a £123m transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The 23-year-old France international is set to sign a five-year deal with the Reds, who will pay an initial fee of £106m with a further £17m in add-ons.
Agreement reached after lengthy talks
Liverpool made Barcola their primary transfer target earlier this summer and have been locked in talks with PSG for over a month. The Ligue 1 champions had initially been looking for £145m, but negotiations were ramped up on Wednesday evening to the point where an agreement in principle had been found on Thursday morning.
The finer details of the move have now been thrashed out for the 23-year-old, who was part of the France squad that finished fourth at the World Cup. Barcola trained normally with his PSG colleagues on Thursday while the two clubs finalised the specifics.
Record-breaking signing for Liverpool
The winger has now been cleared to undergo a Liverpool medical ahead of what will be the biggest signing of the summer window to date in the Premier League. The deal will make Barcola the second most expensive signing in the club's history behind Alexander Isak, who joined from Newcastle United for £125m on September 1 last year.
The addition of Barcola, who could make his Reds debut in the Premier League trip to Ipswich Town on September 4, is a significant one for new head coach Andoni Iraola, who has prioritised pace and width all summer following Mohamed Salah's end-of-season exit.
Iraola's vision for the attack
Victor Munoz was signed from Osasuna for £34.5m in June, but Liverpool's recruitment team have been tasked with further bolstering the options out wide, and the Frenchman was earmarked as the No.1 target over two months ago.
"I think for a club like us we need wingers who can make the difference, who can be the man who can make the difference in isolation, who can attack the spaces, who can also do the defensive work that we are going to demand from them in terms of pressing or sometimes following the full-backs," Iraola said on Thursday. "And also if they can provide numbers then it’s perfect. It is difficult to find someone who can tick all the boxes, but it is what we are trying to do."
Further wide options being pursued
Barcola primarily operates off the left-hand side, and the Reds are still expected to pursue another wideman on the opposite flank before the 11pm transfer deadline on Tuesday evening. Liverpool have had two offers rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion for Yankuba Minteh, while the club have also checked on Crystal Palace attacker Ismaila Sarr, who is also the subject of interest from Turkish giants Galatasaray.
There is also uncertainty over the future of Cody Gakpo, who is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and has been the subject of an approach from Manchester City this month. Barcola had made it clear he had no intention of signing a new deal at PSG after falling behind Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue in the club's forward line.
Head coach Luis Enrique and sporting director Luis Campos have spent the summer further bolstering that department, with the European champions adding Mika Godts, Ferran Torres and Maghnes Akliouche to their ranks, further increasing the competition for Barcola and Ibrahima Mbaye, who Liverpool have also looked at this summer but is now set to sign for Aston Villa. Barcola is expected to ask for the No.29 shirt at Anfield.
