Bradley Barcola to Liverpool discussed as Reds learn incredible asking price for PSG star

As Liverpool look to sign Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, Sports Mole's Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discusses a potential transfer to Anfield.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "It would be a phenomenal signing"

It is maybe a bit more surprising now that PSG are out of the Yan Diomande race and have clearly made their unhappiness known. 

But they do not have much power in the Barcola situation, as it is well reported that he has refused to sign a new deal. He is now in the last 24 months of his agreement, and this summer will likely be their last chance to recoup a really good fee before he gets into the final year of his contract. 

Nine-figure deals are the norm in today’s market, but £145m is still extraordinary. PSG are using the Morgan Rogers and Elliott Anderson deals as the benchmarks, but that comparison does not hold up. 

Rogers and Anderson both have Premier League experience, which is invaluable in the transfer market. All three players are 23 years old, so age is not a differentiating factor. 

Rogers’ Villa contract ran until 2031 and he left for £117m. Anderson was under contract at Forest until 2029 and went for £115m.

Barcola has less time on his contract and no Premier League experience, yet PSG want £30m more than what Chelsea and Manchester City paid for Rogers and Anderson. 

The reasoning is that he has won back-to-back Champions Leagues and helped France reach the World Cup semi-finals. But last season he was largely outshone by Doue and Kvaratskhelia. 

When PSG signed Kvaratskhelia, they paid just under £60m, and he was already a Serie A title winner and one of the best up-and-coming attackers in Europe. 

To ask for more than double that for Barcola, when he has refused a new deal and PSG’s negotiating position is weakened, is absurd. 

Liverpool would be shocked if they bowed to those demands. The longer the situation drags on, the weaker PSG’s position becomes, and Barcola seems set on exploring other opportunities. 

If Liverpool can pull it off, it would be a phenomenal signing, but if reports on the price tag are accurate, it is just ridiculous and hard to see Liverpool paying it. There is a scenario where they could drive the price down this summer, and at a lower fee it would be a ten-out-of-ten signing.