Liverpool and PSG 'closer on Bradley Barcola fee' with winger now 'confident'

Barcola, 23, remains the Reds' priority, but PSG are demanding around £145million for the France international. Brighton & Hove Albion have also rejected two bids from Liverpool for Yankuba Minteh, the latest believed to be in the region of £60million, as they want in excess of £70million.

The Reds have also shown exploratory interest in Ibrahim Mbaye. However, their pursuit of Minteh means they are unlikely to follow up with PSG over the teenage teammate of their top transfer target, Barcola.

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The initial factors for Liverpool centred around a genuine commitment to pursuing a deal. With Barcola approaching the final two years of his Parc des Princes contract, he needed to signal his openness to leaving to compel PSG to reach a decision.

Once that materialised, the French and European champions faced the question of whether a sale would best serve their interests in maximising the player's transfer value, which subsequently occurred. Liverpool then needed to establish themselves as frontrunners to secure Barcola, which happened promptly, before PSG identified replacements in the transfer market to strengthen their own attacking options.

Everything aligned favourably for the Reds, who then confronted the most challenging obstacle of all: club-to-club negotiations. Les Parisiens established a substantial valuation for the winger, creating a divide between both clubs that required bridging before any agreement could be reached.

PSG rejected initial proposals as Liverpool sought to formalise their interest, though proceedings have continued into the transfer window's final week. It now appears the protracted saga is finally heading towards a resolution that suits all parties, with a strong expectation that Barcola will ultimately make his way to Anfield.

According to a report from L'Equipe, Liverpool are preparing to table a final offer for the winger that they are confident PSG will accept, following a narrowing of the valuation gap between the two clubs in recent weeks.

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It is understood that Barcola and his camp are increasingly confident that an agreement will be reached, with no alarm among those involved, despite the apparent lack of progress to date. There is an anticipation that the fee will surpass the Ligue Un record for a sale to an overseas club, eclipsing both Ayyoub Bouaddi's forthcoming move to Manchester City this summer and Neymar's transfer to Al-Hilal in 2023.

This represents just one of several anticipated moves in Liverpool's late transfer activity, with interest remaining in Minteh to reinforce the right-wing options available to Andoni Iraola. At the same time, Cody Gakpo continues to be the subject of speculation about a departure. All of which points towards a hectic final week in the market for the Reds, with considerable business to be concluded both in and out of the club.

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