Liverpool are preparing to make Bradley Barcola their third £100m-plus signing, as the club continues to reshape their squad under Andoni Iraola.
The Paris St-Germain and France winger has emerged as a primary transfer target, with Liverpool willing to pay around £100m for the 23-year-old.
PSG are holding firm at closer to £145m, meaning the two clubs remain some distance apart in their respective valuations.
Liverpool have already shown their willingness to spend at this level, having paid Bayer Leverkusen a fee that could reach £116m for Florian Wirtz.
They also broke their club record in September, spending £125m to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.
Barcola joined PSG from Lyon in 2023 for a reported £38.5m and has since developed into one of the most decorated young wingers in European football.
He has won three Ligue 1 titles, the French Cup twice, the Uefa Super Cup, and the Fifa Intercontinental Cup during his time in Paris.
Barcola came on as a second-half substitute in both of the last two Champions League finals, including PSG’s 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan and their penalty shootout victory over Arsenal.
The winger scored three goals at this summer’s World Cup, though France were beaten 6-4 by England in the third-fourth place play-off.
The need to strengthen Liverpool’s attack has become clear following Mohamed Salah’s departure on a free transfer after nine years and 257 goals at the club.
Hugo Ekitike ruptured his Achilles tendon in April and is not expected to return in 2026, further thinning Iraola’s attacking options heading into the new campaign.
Cody Gakpo has also been linked with a move to Tottenham, though Liverpool have insisted they have no desire to sell the versatile forward.
Barcola’s statistical profile helps explain why Liverpool’s recruitment team are understood to admire him so strongly ahead of a potential move.
Opta’s player similarity model found his output most closely resembled that of Luis Diaz across Europe’s top five leagues in 2025-26, with a similarity rating of 78%.
He averaged 3.5 shots per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, and his 9.83 expected goals ranked in the 95th percentile among wingers across Europe’s top five leagues.
He converted those chances into 11 league goals, outperforming his xG, while no PSG player or Ligue 1 winger recorded a higher xG total during the 2025-26 campaign.
Barcola was the only player across Europe’s top five leagues to average more than two shot-ending carries per 90 minutes, illustrating a rare ability to drive at defenders before creating his own chances.
He also averaged 8.69 touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 minutes, the seventh-highest figure among more than 1,500 eligible players.
Only Ousmane Dembele had a better combined shot volume with chance creation in Ligue 1, underlining Barcola’s ability to both finish attacks and create opportunities for team-mates.
He ranked ninth across Europe’s top five leagues for possessions won in the final third last season, a pressing metric that aligns well with what Iraola is expected to demand from his wide forwards.
Having played as a striker until the age of 17, Barcola brings a centre-forward’s instincts to the left wing, meaning Liverpool would not simply be signing a like-for-like replacement for any outgoing player.
At just 23, his combination of pace, movement, shot volume, and pressing output suggests he has yet to reach his ceiling as one of Europe’s most complete young wide forwards.
