Brentford to battle Liverpool for club-record Bakayoko deal in January

By Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

13th Sep, 2023 | 6:40am

Sources: Liverpool in race for club-record Johan Bakayoko deal in January

Brentford are once again ready to battle several clubs in England and Europe in January for red-hot PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko, sources have told Football Insider.

Football Insider revealed on 28 August that Liverpool, Everton, Crystal Palace and Burnley were also in the race to sign Bakayoko, 20, during the summer window.

It was Brentford who came closest to signing the super-quick winger after submitting a reported club-record bid of £34million for his services.

However, he chose to remain a PSV player following their qualification for the Champions League group stages.

Brentford will face fierce competition once again in January for the Belgium international as they seek to seal a club-record move.

A well-placed source has revealed a potential deal could hinge on the success of PSV’s European exploits.

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They have been drawn together with Arsenal, Sevilla and Lens in Group B of the Champions League.

Bakayoko has already provided five assists in eight appearances so far in the 2023-24 campaign.

The PSV star has exclusively played on the right flank for Peter Bosz’s side.

Bakayoko is under contract in Eindhoven until June 2026.

The left-footer scored nine goals and provided six assists in 39 appearances in the 2022-23 campaign – his breakout season.

Bakayoko also made his first appearances for the senior Belgium side this year, grabbing a goal in his first international start against Estonia in June.

He kept his place in the side for this month’s internationals and registered an assist in the 1-0 win over Azerbaijan on Saturday (9 September).

He came through the youth ranks at Leuven, Club Brugge and Anderlecht before joining the PSV setup in 2019.

In other news, Man United failed with late move to sign Brentford star.