Liverpool secures deal for teenage striker Djylian N'Guessan
Liverpool are pushing hard at the end of the window, but not every move is about the here and now.
With the club waiting to rubber-stamp the arrival of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, the recruitment team has already turned one eye to the next generation. A deal for Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, worth around €35 million and scheduled for next summer, underlined that shift. Now comes another step in the same direction.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign St Etienne striker Djylian N'Guessan, with the teenager set to arrive at Anfield in the summer of 2027. The agreement is in place with both club and player, and N'Guessan has been given the green light to undergo a medical. The fee remains under wraps, but the intent is clear.
Liverpool are stockpiling tomorrow’s firepower today.
This is not the marquee forward some supporters hoped would walk straight into the starting XI before the current window closes. It is a calculated play on potential. N'Guessan only recently turned 18 and is a centre-forward who can also operate from wide areas, a profile that fits neatly with Liverpool’s fluid front-line philosophy.
He has already tasted senior football with St Etienne, making 13 first-team appearances, several of them during the 2024-25 season, while doing much of his learning in the club’s B team and under-19 side. On the international stage, he has been capped up to under-20 level for his country, another marker of how highly he is regarded.
For now, though, the French club will keep him. Liverpool’s plan mirrors the Brughmans blueprint: secure the signature early, leave the development in familiar surroundings. Staying at St Etienne should give N'Guessan the minutes and responsibility that would be hard to guarantee in a packed Liverpool attack.
It also tells a story about how the Merseyside club see the next cycle. As the current forward line edges towards its next evolution, the hierarchy are quietly putting pieces in place for 2027 and beyond, even while the noise around this window centres on immediate reinforcements.
Supporters will still demand more first-team-ready additions before the deadline. That debate will rage until the shutters come down. But in N'Guessan, Liverpool are betting that one of the answers to their future attacking questions is already signed, sealed and simply waiting for his time.
