Liverpool’s summer transfer activity is building momentum, with Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola emerging as the club’s primary attacking target ahead of the new campaign.
Journalist David Lynch has reported that a deal for Barcola could be “very, very possible”, with positive movement expected on the £128m price tag PSG have set for the 23-year-old Frenchman.
Liverpool completed a British-record £125m transfer to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer, making the Swedish striker their marquee signing of a transformative window.
The 2025/26 season proved a difficult one for Isak, who managed just three goals and one assist across 14 Premier League starts and eight substitute appearances, a sharp drop from his previous output.
By contrast, Isak had registered 23 goals and six assists across 34 league appearances in his final season at Newcastle, establishing himself as one of the division’s most dangerous frontmen.
Now that Mohamed Salah has departed Anfield and Hugo Ekitike remains sidelined until around Christmas with an ACL injury, the goalscoring burden on Isak’s shoulders has never been heavier.
Former England international Danny Mills has described the new chapter under Andoni Iraola as a “fresh start”, while pundit Alan Shearer once remarked that “everything about his game is of the highest quality.”
Isak impressed at the World Cup with Sweden, looking sharper and fitter than he had throughout a frustrating domestic campaign, offering genuine optimism heading into pre-season training.
Barcola has been hailed as “one of the best left wingers in the world” by analyst Ben Mattinson, and has scored 34 goals for PSG since the start of the 2024/25 season.
The Frenchman combined superbly with Ousmane Dembele at PSG, whose dynamic and fleet-footed attacking style closely mirrors the approach Isak himself brings to the centre-forward role.
Barcola emerged as Liverpool’s top target following Yan Diomande’s rejection of the club’s advances, leaving FSG to refocus their efforts on landing the powerful and technically gifted winger.
Arsenal had been linked with Barcola but appear to have shifted their focus toward completing a deal for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, potentially clearing Liverpool’s path to securing their man.
Isak has historically thrived alongside pacy, direct wingers, most notably during his productive partnership with Anthony Gordon at Newcastle, where his intelligent link-up play complemented a fast-moving attack.
Barcola is considered a significant step above that level of quality, and his arrival on Merseyside could ease the goalscoring pressure on Isak while injecting creativity and unpredictability into Liverpool’s attack.
At 6 feet tall yet demonstrating elegant balance and grace in the channels, Barcola offers a rare physical and technical combination that Iraola’s front-footed system would be ideally suited to maximise.