After a summer of two clubs staring at each other across a £25m gap, Liverpool have finally blinked in the right direction. Sky Sports reported on Thursday morning that the Reds have an agreement in principle with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Bradley Barcola for a package worth £120m. The deal is not signed. The last details are still being argued over. But the number itself is now fixed, and that was the part nobody could agree on until this week.
Why £120m and not £145m
PSG spent most of the window insisting on around £145m for the France international. Liverpool never went near it. What changed was the calendar. With the deadline closing in and Barcola's own preference understood to be a move to England, the French champions have accepted a figure that still makes him one of the most expensive players in Premier League history without being the absurd one PSG opened with.
Barcola is 23. He can play off either flank, he is quick in a way that stretches back lines rather than just looks fast in highlight clips, and he has already been through two Champions League campaigns at a club where the pressure never lets up. That combination is rare enough at his age to justify the outlay, even if the fee will hang over him for a while.
What it means for Cody Gakpo
The knock-on effect matters as much as the signing. If Barcola arrives before the deadline, Cody Gakpo is expected to be allowed to leave Anfield. Tottenham and Manchester City are both interested in the Netherlands forward, and both have room in their squads for a player who can operate centrally or wide left. Gakpo has never quite settled into one position at Liverpool, which is precisely why two clubs with different problems both fancy him.
The second winger is proving harder
Liverpool are not finished. They want another wide player and the search has been messy. Talks with Brighton over Yankuba Minteh stalled after two bids, the most recent worth £60m, were turned down. Brighton want £80m and have shown no sign of moving. Andoni Iraola's side have since approached Crystal Palace about Ismaila Sarr, though Palace consider the 28-year-old not for sale and he has three years left on his contract. Sarr missed the opening-weekend defeat at Everton, and while reports suggested he was refusing to train, it is understood he is simply injured.
None of that is a crisis. It does mean Liverpool are shopping in a market where every selling club has read the same headlines about their spending. Barcola was the priority. Getting him over the line quickly gives them time to do the rest properly instead of panicking on deadline day.
Transfer context: Bradley Barcola, 23, France international, currently contracted to Paris Saint-Germain. Agreed package worth £120m, down from PSG's asking price of around £145m. Deal not yet finalised. Reported by Sky Sports on Thursday 27 August 2026.
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