PSG have dealt Liverpool another transfer blow after Yan Diomande hijack | OneFootball

PSG Move for Maghnes Akliouche Could Shape Liverpool’s Bradley Barcola Transfer Hopes

Paris Saint-Germain have a habit of turning up in the same aisle as Liverpool when the market opens, and too often they leave with the better bottle. This latest development has that same familiar feel. According to RMS Sport, PSG have an agreement in principle on a five-year deal with Maghnes Akliouche, with talks continuing with Monaco over the fee.

For Liverpool, Akliouche is not some random name from the scouting database. He is another talented wide forward and attacking creator who has been admired, watched and weighed up. The issue is that PSG seem to keep parking themselves between Liverpool and that type of player. Yan Diomande appears headed the same way, and that tells its own story about where the French champions currently sit in the pecking order for elite young attackers.

Photo: IMAGO

Maghnes Akliouche transfer has wider consequences

This is where the picture gets interesting. If PSG land Akliouche and complete their push for Diomande, their attacking depth becomes bloated in the wide channels and inside pockets. That matters because Liverpool’s longer-running interest in Bradley Barcola has never truly gone away.

PSG have spent months swatting away interest in Barcola while also considering a lucrative new deal. Even with questions around his minutes, they have held firm on valuation and posture. Yet football squads have only so much room, and recruitment decisions create pressure points. Bring in enough high-end options, and sooner or later someone starts looking at the exit.

Photo: IMAGO

Bradley Barcola path may still emerge

That is why this Akliouche move could carry significance well beyond Monaco and Paris. Liverpool may miss out on one target, or even two, but the knock-on effect could be the real story. A club can slam the front door, then quietly leave the side gate open when numbers pile up.

None of this guarantees Barcola becomes attainable, and PSG are unlikely to soften for charity. If anything, they may try to squeeze every last £1 from any future negotiation. Still, transfer windows are often decided by sequence as much as desire. Liverpool will know that if PSG keep collecting wide men, the market may eventually offer an opening that stubborn resistance had previously denied.

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Here we go again. Liverpool identify a profile, do the homework, track the player, and then watch another super-rich club treat the market like a sweepstake. It is exhausting. Supporters are asked to be patient, trust the process and believe the right deal will come, but there comes a point when patience starts to look like passivity.

If PSG want Akliouche, Diomande and still plan to play hardball over Barcola, then Liverpool have to stop admiring the situation and start forcing it. Elite clubs do not spend all summer waiting for dominoes to fall in someone else’s hallway. They create their own momentum.

Barcola may yet become available, and he looks the sort who could lift a forward line with pace, bravery and proper incision. But if the price climbs into the silly range, Liverpool need alternatives ready to go, not names filed away for another fortnight of internal debate.

There is also a wider irritation here. Too often Liverpool seem to be reactive in these battles, never quite dictating terms. That has to change under Andoni Iraola. This squad needs freshness, threat and ambition in the wide areas. If PSG’s greed opens a door, fine, kick it in. If not, move fast elsewhere. Just do not drift through another window talking about opportunity while rivals stockpile the very talent Liverpool need.