Liverpool Signs Djylian N’Guessan for 2027 Future

Liverpool’s recruitment drive is accelerating into the final hours of the window – and it now has a very deliberate split-screen feel: one eye on the present, the other locked on 2027.

Liverpool land N’Guessan for the future

Fabrizio Romano has delivered his trademark “here we go” on Liverpool’s move for Saint-Etienne forward Djylian N’Guessan, confirming an agreement for the highly rated 18-year-old to join the club in the summer of 2027.

The deal, first revealed by Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, sees Liverpool move decisively for a player they regard as a major long-term prospect. N’Guessan, who can operate off the flanks or through the middle, is under contract at Saint-Etienne until 2027, but the French club had been open about listening to offers for their young star.

Aouna reported “advanced negotiations” between the clubs, with only “last details to settle”. Those details are now in place. Romano says Liverpool have secured authorization for a medical and agreed terms on the player side, with N’Guessan set to remain at Saint-Etienne for another season before heading to Anfield.

The move follows the capture of Lucca Brughmans, underlining a clear strategy: stockpile elite young talent early, even while the senior squad faces immediate, high-stakes decisions.

Gakpo, City and the winger domino

Those decisions revolve around Cody Gakpo – and the knock-on effect his future could have on the rest of Liverpool’s business.

Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, revealed that Gakpo has reached a full agreement on personal terms with Manchester City. City have backed that up with an £85m bid to Liverpool. The proposal is on the table. The clock is ticking.

Liverpool’s stance is blunt. They will only cash in if they secure a right-sided attacker before the deadline. No replacement, no sale. If they cannot land their man, Gakpo stays.

That has turned the search for a winger into a high-speed, high-pressure chase. Names have been offered, floated, pushed by agents. One stands above the rest.

Ismaila Sarr at the centre of the storm

Ismaila Sarr has emerged as Liverpool’s preferred option on the wing, ahead of Yankuba Minteh at this stage. The Crystal Palace forward has become the key to the entire chain.

Palace, for now, are resisting. Romano reports that the London club are “still saying no” to letting Sarr go, even as they quietly explore potential replacements in case the right offer lands. They are not closing the door; they are guarding it fiercely.

Liverpool have already tested that resolve. A written, official bid worth £45m plus £5m in add-ons – a £50m package – went in earlier this week and was rejected. There had been no public noise around Sarr to Anfield at that point, but Romano insists the offer was very real and very formal.

Palace’s answer was simple: not enough.

Sarr, for his part, wants the move. He is ready for Liverpool. The decision now rests with the clubs, with Liverpool weighing whether to return with an improved bid and Palace calculating how far they can push the price without losing the deal altogether.

A window on a knife-edge

All of this unfolds as Liverpool prepare to add Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, the Frenchman having completed his medical on Sunday. Another attacking piece, another sign of a squad being reshaped on the fly.

So the picture is clear, even if the outcome is anything but. Liverpool have locked in N’Guessan for 2027, lined up Barcola for now, and are pushing hard for Sarr. Manchester City are waiting with £85m for Gakpo, ready to pounce the moment Liverpool give the green light.

The question is no longer whether Liverpool will act. It’s whether they can pull off the winger deal that lets the entire domino line finally crash into place.