Barcola agreement in ‘next 24-48 hours’ with colossal Liverpool move to shatter three transfer records

Liverpool finally hope to secure a full agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for the signing of Bradley Barcola before the weekend, according to two well-informed journalists, with the move poised to shatter three big transfer records in the process.

The Reds have tracked the France international for well over a year, but he has become the top priority for Liverpool this summer as they seek a new leading light in attack following the departure of Mohamed Salah at the end of last season.

And while not a direct replacement for the Egyptian king – Barcola‘s best position is off the opposite flank – the 23-year-old is capable of playing across the attack and providing the sort of game-changing spark which typified Salah’s time on Merseyside.

Understandably, a deal will not come cheap, with PSG providing mean negotiators for the winger.

Nonetheless, fuelled by Barcola’s desire to make the move, coupled with the European champions’ willingness to discuss a transfer, talks have been ongoing for the best part of a month.

Now, after we revealed a 17% price cut from the Parisians had fuelled Liverpool’s hopes, journalist Ben Jacobs believes Liverpool are finally on the cusp of a full agreement for his transfer.

“[There was a] key meeting yesterday as Liverpool try to get a bit more clarity now,” Jacobs began on talkSPORT.

“If they don’t have an agreement in principle for Barcola this week, it’s not necessarily ideal to be leaving that until the final minutes of the window, especially when you still may need to resolve [Cody] Gakpo, and they want another attacker in.

“Liverpool are pushing now to see whether they can make a breakthrough, and that could potentially come as early as the next 24 to 48 hours.

“The price has definitely dropped from €170m [£145.7m], but how low is a point of debate among sources. Some say £120m; others still say a little bit higher than that.”

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Liverpool’s Barcola move to shatter three records

As sources have revealed, while Liverpool are prepared to dig deep for Barcola, they are hopeful of sealing a deal for a package less than that paid to Newcastle for Alexander Isak; thus ensuring the France star does not become the most expensive British transfer of all time.

Nonetheless, the fee the Reds are willing to fork out will shatter numerous transfer records in its own right as TEAMtalk takes a look at what the expected £120m (€140m, $163m) package will set new record marks for.

Firstly, the scale of the operation will surpass the Ligue 1 record for a player sold to an overseas club. Ayyoub Bouaddi set that record just this week following his £86m (€100m, $117m) move from Lille to Manchester City.

Secondly, the deal also looks set to become PSG’s biggest ever outgoing transfer, comfortably surpassing the €90 million received when Neymar joined Al-Hilal in 2023.

And finally, the deal will also set a new record mark at Anfield for a fee paid to an overseas side. That currently stands at the £116m package agreed just last summer with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz.

At the proposed £120m, that will ultimately sit second on Liverpool’s all-time list, and the pressures will undoubtedly be on the player to perform.

Nonetheless, the move to Anfield will see Barcola fulfil a dream, as revealed by his former youth coach.

And per former Lyon youth-team coach Amoury Barlet, the player has a long-standing interest in Liverpool, having followed them closely as a young boy.

“He is still a very young player and has a huge amount of room for improvement. When he was younger, he followed Liverpool FC a lot. That club was always somewhere in the back of his mind.”

On his best qualities as a player, he added: “He is a player who doesn’t look to dribble past just one player, but who looks to beat an entire line of defenders. He is capable of doing this through his quality of first touch and acceleration, as well as through his direct runs and his particular style of dribbling.

“He has a lot of variety in his game and is capable of playing in every attacking position. He is a player who creates imbalance, who finds solutions in possession against very low defensive blocks, and who is very effective in quick attacks.”

In addition to Barcola, Liverpool also want a second winger, though that won’t be Ismaila Sarr despite claims the Reds had had a £50m offer rejected on Wednesday and with sources revealing the full truths over those links.

A double arrival could have an impact on Cody Gakpo. And we have revealed the player is keen on a move to Tottenham Hotspur, sources have explained why the Reds would prefer to block his sale until January.