Liverpool Secure N’Guessan Amid Gakpo Exit Speculation

Liverpool are playing two games at once this week: one in the present, one in the future.

While the club scrambles to reshape Andoni Iraola’s forward line before Tuesday night’s deadline, they have quietly tied down one of France’s most highly regarded young attackers. Fabrizio Romano has delivered his trademark “here we go” on Djylian N’Guessan, confirming that Liverpool have reached an agreement with Saint-Etienne for the 18-year-old.

N’Guessan will not arrive at Anfield immediately. The versatile French forward will stay with ASSE for another season and then join Liverpool in the summer of 2027, a long-range move that underlines the club’s determination to stack their next generation early. He follows Lucca Brughmans as another piece of future planning in attack.

The deal was first flagged by Foot Mercato’s Santi Aouna, who revealed that negotiations between Saint-Etienne and Liverpool had reached an advanced stage, with only final details left to resolve. Saint-Etienne have been open about the possibility of cashing in on their young star, whose contract runs to 2027, and Liverpool have moved decisively to position N’Guessan as a prospect for the years ahead.

Romano then confirmed that an agreement is complete on both club and player side, with Liverpool receiving authorization for a medical. The message was clear: N’Guessan to Liverpool is done, the paperwork just waiting for its moment.

Barcola in, Gakpo out?

That long-term move drops into a window dominated by one huge potential outgoing.

Bradley Barcola is already on the brink of joining from PSG, having passed his medical on Sunday and prepared a blockbuster switch to Anfield. His arrival is expected to set off one of the biggest dominoes of the summer: Cody Gakpo to Manchester City.

Gakpo has turned his back on an £85 million move to Tottenham, choosing instead to pursue a switch to the Etihad. According to Romano, the Netherlands international has an agreement in place with City over personal terms. The Premier League champions have sent an £85m bid to Liverpool, and the structure is ready.

But Liverpool are holding the line. Gakpo only goes if a right winger comes in before the deadline. No winger, no sale.

Sarr tops Liverpool’s winger list

That stance has thrown the spotlight on one name above all others: Ismaila Sarr.

Romano reports that Sarr is now ahead of Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh in Liverpool’s thinking. The Crystal Palace winger is viewed as the leading candidate to unlock the Gakpo deal and complete Iraola’s attacking puzzle.

Palace, for now, are resisting. The London club have rejected a formal Liverpool offer worth £45m plus £5m in add-ons, a £50m package that fell short of their valuation. Publicly, there was silence and denial around any approach. Behind the scenes, Liverpool had already sent an official written bid.

That bid was turned down, and Palace are still saying no to a sale at that price. Yet they are also sounding out potential replacements on the market, a clear sign they are bracing for the possibility of a serious proposal landing before the window shuts.

Sarr’s stance is far less ambiguous. He wants the move. He wants Liverpool. Whether he gets it now depends entirely on how far the two clubs are prepared to push in the final hours.

Minteh, and everyone else

While Sarr sits at the top of the list, Minteh remains part of the conversation. The Brighton winger is viewed as an alternative option, but not the primary target as things stand. Around them, agents and clubs are circling, aware that Liverpool’s need for a wide forward is both urgent and well-funded.

Romano describes Liverpool as being offered wingers “every minute”, a feeding frenzy that always appears when a heavyweight club enters the market late with money to spend and a clear positional gap.

The chain reaction is simple enough. Secure a right winger, and Liverpool can cash in on Gakpo at peak value, with Manchester City waiting and willing. Miss out on that winger, and Gakpo stays, the entire late-window strategy reshaped in an instant.

Between the long-term bet on N’Guessan and the high-stakes pursuit of Sarr, Liverpool are trying to thread a tight needle: protect tomorrow without blinking in the face of today’s pressure. By Tuesday night, the club will know whether this bold balancing act delivers a refreshed front line or leaves them one move short.