Liverpool have signed Victor Muñoz but with Mohamed Salah departing, Hugo Ekitike out until 2027, and the club having failed to properly replace Luis Diaz after he was sold last season there is a clear need to more and for the past month at least it has seemed clear that more would by Yan Diomande.
Following news that RB Leipzig’s Ivorian star had snubbed the Reds in favour of Paris Saint-Germain, though, we know it won’t be him. The likes of Köln’s Said El Mala, Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo, and Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh have all been put forward as possible alternates, but Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola is the name that will draw the most attention.
On that front, shortly following news that Diomande’s choice was PSG over Liverpool, French sources floated the idea that Barcola’s future could be in doubt—something that was always expected should the French club manage to sign Diomande, potentially squeezing him out.
Now, the likes of TalkSport’s Alex Crook and transfer rumour clearing house Fabrizio Romano are bringing up the Reds in connection to him while making meaningful noises both about Barcola’s desire not to end up buried at PSG and Liverpool’s interest in the player which goes back to at least last summer.
In addition to Barcola, PSG also have Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué already on the books. Three star wingers for two positions might be workable. Four almost certainly means one needs to go, and with Barcola down to two years on his contract and resistant to negotiating a new one he certainly seems the off man out.
Liverpool have also been tentatively linked with Bournemouth’s Rayan, though so far at least those links appear to be more to do with the wishing of fans and the rumour mongers putting two and two together to link a rising star winger who thrived under Andoni Iraola than they do to solid sourcing.
Hopefully, whoever it is that Liverpool go for next, they do a better job closing the deal than they managed with Diomande, who has been presented as something of a lock to eventually sign for Liverpool for much of the past month by most of the club’s connected journalists.