Real Madrid do Liverpool a massive favour, wonderkid now ready for Anfield move | OneFootball

Liverpool have only signed one player so far this summer.

The Reds' fanbase were led to believe that another rebuild was on its way to L4 with Andoni Iraola's appointment being their first step towards redemption after what can only be described as a shocking 2025-26 season.

Indeed, the sheer number of injuries that the club suffered didn't help matters much but, when their first-team squad were fit, they should have done a lot better.

This lack of form made the Reds' fanbase think that several new players would have already been brought to Liverpool but, in reality, that has been far from the case.

Despite their lack of movement in the market, the rumour mill has been in overdrive and now, it seems like the L4 outfit may have just been handed a massive boost.

Yan Diomande's failed Real Madrid move has been massively beneficial for Liverpool

Even though Yan Diomande was Liverpool's main target to replace Mohamed Salah, after Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid entered the race, it's clear that the Reds had no chance of signing the Ivorian.

Both PSG and Real Madrid have a lot more money to play with than the Reds and, realistically, after the season that Liverpool had last term, both of those clubs are much more enticing projects.

One main problem that clubs have faced this term is the lack of right-wingers available on the market.

Manchester City signed Antoine Semenyo in January and, even though most people expected Jarrod Bowen to be on the market, he's ended up staying put at West Ham United.

This has caused the market to become massively inflated with players such as Yankuba Minteh being rated at around £50 million.

However, thanks to how competitive the market is, Liverpool have actually been done a massive favour by Real Madrid.

That is, if an update from journalist Abdellah Boulma is to be believed.

"Ibrahim Mbaye was supposed to be included in the Yan Diomandé operation," he shared via his personal X account.

"While a deal with Leipzig was taking shape, the file ultimately fell through after PSG's withdrawal.

"Today, Liverpool is among the most active clubs on the file, as revealed by Fabrice Hawkins.

"Bradley Barcola remains a priority target for Liverpool."

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Ibrahim Mbaye could be an even better signing than Bradley Barcola

Obviously, Bradley Barcola is a world-class attacker.

Last season, the Frenchman contributed to 20 goals across all competitions and featured in 49 games for PSG.

However, despite his excellent form, Enrique left him out of his Champions League final starting XI which caused a bit of an issue.

So, from that point on, links with a transfer away have emerged and, at the moment, Liverpool are the ones leading the way.

However, since the Ligue 1 champions are looking to add at least another two or three attackers to their ranks, this means that Ibrahima Mbaye would also drop further down the pecking order.

And, even though the attacker is only 18 years old, he still featured in 31 games for PSG last term which is fairly impressive.

There are obviously a lot of moving parts to still iron out but, if Real Madrid have just handed Liverpool the arrival of Mbaye, it would be an unreal bit of business for them and the wonderkid.