Profiling PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye with Data: Liverpool and Leverkusen target

Written on 05/08/2026,

Following last night’s updates that Liverpool are among the clubs interested in signing Paris Saint-Germain winger Ibrahim Mbaye, it feels like the right time to analyse the player in detail to get an idea of his profile and the sort of addition he would be to Andoni Iraola’s team.

The Senegal international was previously linked with RB Leipzig, while Bayer Leverkusen remain in the race for his signature, even though reports suggest that the player would prefer a move to Anfield if the Reds make a concrete offer.

Mbaye moved to the PSG youth academy in 2018, when he was 10 years old. He progressed through the various age groups before making his first-team debut during the 2024/25 season. The 18-year-old has made only 33 Ligue 1 appearances (just over 1,300 minutes), so he remains a young prospect with fewer than 2,000 minutes of playing time in the French top flight.

Hence, the reported asking price of around £30-40 million feels about right, given the current state of the market. His performances at the World Cup, where he impressed whenever he was given the opportunity, have almost certainly added a few million to that valuation.

Below, we have a bar chart looking at his percentile ranks among Ligue 1 forwards and wingers for the 2025/26 season. He played 997 league minutes last season (24 appearances, 10 starts).

Looking at that chart, it gives us the impression that Mbaye is more of an orthodox winger than a wide forward. He is a right-footed winger who is comfortable operating on both flanks. So far, for PSG, he has played 18 games as a right winger and 10 as a left winger in all competitions.

Even while playing for a possession-dominant side, the 18-year-old’s shot volume is below 2.5 per 90, which is reflected in his team-adjusted percentile rank. In terms of chance creation, he ranks above the 70th percentile for expected assists, open-play chances created, and crosses attempted into the box. With close to five dribbles attempted per 90, he is also a high-volume dribbler. This is the area of the game where he is very good.

When it comes to carries, he loves driving with the ball and ranks in the 95th percentile for average progressive carry distance per 90.

What does he prefer doing after a carry? Well, the answer is clear. His percentile rank for chance-ending carries is much higher than for shot-ending carries, which ties back to his overall profile as a winger.

Right, we have a good idea of the player now, haven’t we? Let’s dive deeper by looking at some event data visuals to understand the areas where he performs his key actions and how Liverpool could use him if they get the deal over the line. We will be looking at his event data from Ligue 1 matches during the 2025/26 season.

Starting with the touch map.

Mbaye spent more than 60% of his playing time on the right wing last season, which is reflected in the touch map above. As a right-footed winger playing on the right, it is natural for him to hug the touchline and attack the byline far more often than an inverted winger in the same position.

You can see from the touch map that, even when the Senegal international plays on the left, he still tends to hold the width and attack the byline instead of constantly cutting inside and operating more like a left-sided number 10.

We will look at more event data visuals to understand whether he has an angle bias to his game, that is, whether he prefers to shift the ball onto his stronger foot (right) most of the time.

We start doing that by looking at the type of runs he makes before receiving the ball in the final third or beyond.

Regardless of whether Mbaye plays alongside an orthodox number nine (Gonçalo Ramos) or a more fluid nine like Ousmane Dembélé, PSG’s wingers are given the freedom to be flexible with their movements in the final third.

However, in keeping with the 18-year-old’s profile as a winger, he prefers making runs away from goal towards the byline before receiving progressive passes. When playing on the right, he does not yet show a consistent tendency to make those out-to-in runs to attack the far post and get shots away. That said, he is still only 18 and has plenty of time to develop, add more variety to his game, and expand his off-the-ball movement.

Next up, we will look at his take-on map (dribbling), followed by what he does after completing a take-on, his carrying tendencies, chance creation map and shot map.

We will also compare him with Yan Diomandé, another right-footed right winger Liverpool were interested in signing earlier in the window, to understand how similar or different the two profiles are.

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