Fabrizio Romano gives Liverpool fresh hope of landing 18-year-old wonderkid | OneFootball

Liverpool now have around a week left to bolster their ranks.

The Anfield outfit are still in desperate need for some new players, especially if they're wanting to challenge for silverware again.

Some deals such as Bradley Barcola's are edging closer but, at the moment, it's unclear what Andoni Iraola's squad is going to look like by the time the transfer window slams shut.

The Spaniard was expected to change a lot of things around and, while four of Liverpool's first-team have now left, three have joined but none of them seem to be as good as those that they replaced.

However, fans are still hopeful that the former Bournemouth boss can turn things around this season.

As mentioned, many new players have been linked with a switch but now, the Reds' fanbase have just been given a bit of extra hope in their chase for one long-term target.

Bayer Leverkusen are focusing their attention on Moussa Diaby rather than Ibrahim Mbaye

Replacing Mohamed Salah should have been the first thing on Liverpool's priority list this summer.

Richard Hughes has known since the start of July that Yan Diomande wasn't going to be his man so, that obviously makes fans wonder why signing the Egyptian King's replacement is taking so long.

Barcola is obviously their number one target now and, while he'd be an incredible signing, the fee Paris Saint-Germain are asking for is extortionate and is one of the main reasons why a deal is being held up.

This has caused many other players to be linked with a switch which has then piqued the interest of fans.

Ibrahim Mbaye is one of these other players to have been linked but, since he's 18 years old and has already made a name for himself in Paris, many other clubs alongside Liverpool also want to sign him.

This caused many questions to be raised but now, thanks to an update from Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool's fanbase may be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Bayer Leverkusen will now focus their efforts on closing Moussa Diaby deal with Al Ittihad," he wrote.

"Follows green light for Ernest Poku to leave and join Besiktas on initial loan with buy clause."

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Liverpool must put everything that they have into strengthening their attack

Since Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are both lurking to try and prise Cody Gakpo away from Liverpool, some serious changed could be made to the Reds' attack over the next seven days.

On Sunday, Gakpo was Liverpool's best attacker and, on the face of things, it would be silly for them to get rid of the Dutchman at this point in the window.

Indeed, they could end up signing Mbaye and Barcola but, they'd still be an attacker down as Hugo Ekitike is side-lined until who knows when.

If Hughes doesn't strengthen Liverpool's attack before the summer window slams shut, some serious questions will need to be asked.