How Liverpool can sign a Barcola and Diomande hybrid

The pointers lead to Bradley Barcola signing for Liverpool before the end of the summer transfer window. Paris Saint-Germain are closing deals for Mika Godts and World Cup winner Ferran Torres, and Luis Enrique’s recent comments will only have emboldened FSG.

Barcola has been Liverpool’s top target for a while now. Considered “one of the best left wingers in the world” by analysts such as Como scout Ben Mattinson, the Les Bleus star is hopeful that he will join the Reds before the window shuts in a few weeks. There are no issues expected in regard to personal terms.

However, Liverpool are yet to engineer a financial package with PSG, whose £145m valuation will not do. Barcola is a superstar, but he’s not that good.

And anyway, the Anfield side need to spread out their resources. They fell back onto him after being rejected by Yan Diomande, but the Frenchman will not cover Mohamed Salah’s absence on the right wing.

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Liverpool had hoped to lure No. 1 target Diomande over to Anfield this summer, but the Ivory Coast international opted to swerve the vested interests of both Anfield and PSG in favour of joining Real Madrid in a deal worth up to £120m.

Barcola is a fantastic fallback – when considering the importance of securing an influential attacker at the start of the Iraola era. However, he is not a natural right-sider, so even if Liverpool succeed in their bid, they must surely target another to fill in a Salah-shaped hole.

Iraola believes Rio Ngumoha has what it takes to star down the right wing over the coming year, and Federico Chiesa also remains a member of the Liverpool persuasion.

However, there’s no denying that such options alone would threaten the new manager in his hope of securing Liverpool titles across multiple fronts this season.

With Tottenham Hotspur in pursuit of Cody Gakpo, there’s a sense that Liverpool could push for yet another exciting signing.

Liverpool set to submit bid for Barcola & Diomande hybrid

Andoni Iraola and Liverpool have already made it clear that Ngumoha will feature prominently on the right wing over the coming year, but it would be foolish to enter the new campaign with only the 17-year-old and Chiesa as natural fits on that flank.

According to reports in France, Liverpool are expected to lodge their first formal offer to sign Ibrahim Mbaye in the coming days. The 18-year-old is not as far down the line as Barcola, but he has impressed since breaking onto the scene with PSG over the past two years.

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PSG value Mbaye at £43m, a figure Liverpool are hesitant to meet for one so young and inexperienced. That said, Reds director Richard Hughes has been in dialogue with the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, and the French outfit’s success in tying up deals for various top targets suggests that this is one to keep a close eye on. Manchester United are also interested.

Mbaye has only featured 42 times for PSG in a senior capacity, but he has posted four goals and four assists apiece, a regular feature in Ligue 1 and the Champions League last term as Enrique’s side won both titles.

Moreover, he fits more naturally onto the right wing, so could be the perfect player replace Salah and ensure Liverpool have a smooth and balanced attacking system over the coming year, with so much on the line for Iraola’s new-look outfit.

Described as “the next Kylian Mbappe” by GOAL, Mbaye could indeed emerge as something of a Diomande and Barcola hybrid for Liverpool. Like Real Madrid’s new Galactico, he is well-placed down the right (though is versatile and capable across the frontline). But he also has a cutting edge that echoes the qualities of Barcola, whose 34 goals for PSG over the past two terms has been bettered only by Ousmane Dembele.

Mbaye is still so young, but he’s built up a wealth of title-winning experience for one of the most indomitable outfits of their time.

His pace and potency would allow him to challenge the likes of Ngumoha for a starting berth while continuing to nurture a connection with Barcola, forged at Parc des Princes.

The Senegalese prospect is physical and fast. He’s ready for the Premier League, and Iraola’s skill in developing promising attackers could see him prove a big hit for this Liverpool side.