PSG have included both Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye in their squad to face RC Lens in the Champions Trophy.
The France international has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield in the coming days.
This comes with the Ligue 1 champions having agreed deals for Mika Godts and Ferran Torres.
No immediate sign that PSG are expecting Bradley Barcola to leave
PSG’s official X (formerly Twitter) account confirmed the news in question, with the Blues’ game set to kick off later tonight at 7:45pm.
While we’d have certainly been encouraged by the sight of the pair missing from Luis Enrique’s squad, it doesn’t necessarily indicate that talks between Liverpool and PSG aren’t progressing smoothly.
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That said, it’s worth bearing in mind that there is still a reported disparity between both outfits as far as a price-tag for the France international is concerned.
£145m is understood to be the ideal price point for the 23-year-old winger, however, this is not a fee the Merseysiders are prepared to fork out.
Inclusion certainly doesn’t indicate that Barcola has a future at PSG
We’d like to remind that fans that Luis Enrique has made it expressly clear, both verbally and reportedly, that he has no desire to make use of footballers who don’t want to play for PSG.
“We are a very young, very ambitious team. It is important for us to make changes and look for players who enjoy playing our way and who love playing for PSG,” the Spaniard said.
“When a player doesn’t want to come here, or doesn’t have a smile on their face about being here, it is better to find another solution.”
Barcola, having looked far from pleased after the full-time whistle against Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup final, certainly looks mentally out the door.
Understandably so, of course, given his manager had made something of a statement by not introducing him to the pitch at any point in time. Meanwhile, France teammate Ousmane Dembele did pick up an entire half of football in the second 45.
So, Enrique doesn’t really want him at the club and Bradley Barcola himself doesn’t want to stay either. We just can’t see a future in which the Frenchman stays put in Paris – not without a remarkable u-turn from both parties.
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