Liverpool weighed eight winger targets before sealing £123m Barcola deal from PSG

Liverpool’s £123million signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain was the conclusion of a summer-long search that took in at least eight alternative targets, with the Reds repeatedly seeing their preferred options move elsewhere.

The club entered the window needing wide reinforcements following Mohamed Salah’s departure, and Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig was among the earliest names on their list. Real Madrid ultimately won that race, leaving Liverpool to look elsewhere.

Anthony Gordon, formerly of Everton and Newcastle, was considered at an early stage before Barcelona moved to sign the England winger for £69million — a deal partly triggered by the Spanish club’s decision not to exercise their £26million permanent option for Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh was another avenue that closed without success. Liverpool submitted bids of £50million and £60million for the Gambian winger, both of which Brighton rejected. Minteh remained at the Amex.

Two further targets ended up in the north east of England. Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who had drawn attention with a strong season in Ligue 1, joined Newcastle in a deal worth £51million. Lyon’s Malick Fofana, also tracked by Liverpool, completed a deadline-day move to Sunderland.

A second PSG winger, Ibrahim Mbaye, was on Liverpool’s radar but signed for Aston Villa instead. Real Madrid’s Endrick and Cologne’s Said El Mala rounded out the shortlist, with both ultimately remaining at their clubs.

With those options exhausted or unavailable, Liverpool turned their full attention to Barcola, eventually agreeing terms with PSG after protracted negotiations. The 22-year-old French international has spoken openly about his ambitions at Anfield.

“I hope to achieve very big things,” Barcola said. “First of all, winning the Premier League — it’s one of my biggest dreams in my life. It is to do that and to stay in this team in the long term — that’s why I signed a long contract — and I hope I can do it.”

Barcola added: “It’s a great pride to be able to play for Liverpool. I’m very happy. It took a long time but I’m really happy to be able to play for Liverpool and all I want is to be on the pitch and be able to play.”