Liverpool remain in “daily conversation” with PSG to finalise a deal to sign Bradley Barcola this summer.
Fabrizio Romano reports on X (formerly Twitter) that the Reds even spoke to the French champions as recently as Thursday.
Personal terms have already been agreed with the player.
Liverpool are not walking away from Bradley Barcola
There were disturbing reports that Liverpool would be prepared to step away from talks with PSG (The Standard via CaughtOffside).
Ultimately, everything will hinge on the Parisians’ stance softening in the coming days and, if need be, weeks, given the Reds are unprepared to match the £145m price tag on the table.
However, given the consistency of talks, one might reasonably assume that a compromise is up for grabs.
“Don’t forget that Liverpool remain in daily conversation with PSG for Bradley Barcola,” Romano spoke on the Here We Go Podcast on YouTube.
“Liverpool have an agreement with Barcola on personal terms (verbal agreement). Barcola wants to go to Liverpool. Barcola has never been untouchable.
“Liverpool are ready to go strong for Bradley Barcola.”
Romano went on to add: “Now it depends on the financial agreement. But even on Thursday, contacts took place between PSG and Liverpool. So, the deal is on.”
So… no sign of Liverpool being prepared to walk away just yet. Of course, just how much Luis Enrique’s men are willing to compromise remains to be seen.
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
But we would hasten to remind our readers that Barcola has just under two years remaining on his deal at PSG. And with minutes likely to be curtailed by the impending arrival of Ferran Torres (and, perhaps, Mika Godts), it’s difficult to see the Ligue 1 giants maintaining his value over the course of a season.
Liverpool playing very risky, patient game with PSG
The timing around this prospective deal seems intrinsically tied to PSG’s efforts to bring both Torres and Godts on board.
Two deals that would likely signal the end of both Bradley Barcola’s and Ibrahim Mbaye’s respective time in the French capital.
READ MORE: Flying for medical: Fabrizio Romano confirms £42.7m deal as Barcola closer to Liverpool transfer
How comfortable are we with this strategy? Not particularly, seeing as it also means we’re gambling on the squad’s health nine days away from our first competitive clash against Newcastle in the Premier League.
Even if we’re magically able to seal deals for the two PSG wingers and address deficiencies elsewhere in the squad (chiefly at centre-forward, holding six, and right-back), we’re already accepting that new signings will need time to bed in outside of pre-season.
It’s pretty poor from our recruitment team – especially when we’ve committed to a manager who clearly needs a multitude of bodies available to play his system.
Yet, here we are, and the clock is ticking.