By Alex Heath
Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle with PSG to sign winger Bradley Barcola for a guaranteed fee of just over £100million and up to £20million more in add-ons.
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The deal for Barcola was struck overnight after a drawn-out negotiation process as Liverpool looked to bring down PSG’s original £ 145 million valuation of the player. The 23-year-old Frenchman will become Liverpool’s second-most expensive signing in history behind Alexander Isak, who the Reds bought from Newcastle for £ 125 million last summer. Barcola has two years left on his deal with the French champions but has made his desire to leave clear, having fallen below Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the pecking order. As a result, Barcola has been excluded from Luis Enrique’s squad at the start of this season.
Barcola made 49 appearances last season, scoring 13 goals and providing six assists. He notched four goal contributions in four starts as France progressed to the World Cup semi-finals. The attacker’s top speed of 32.7 km/h made him the fourth fastest player in Europe’s top five leagues last season; his speed and willingness to run in behind will be vital in a Liverpool side whose threat in behind has waned in the last year as Salah aged and the likes of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez departed.
As Andoni Iraola looks to replicate Liverpool’s suffocating high press of the Klopp era, the club will have been drawn to the fact that Barcola won the ball back in the final third at a faster rate than any Liverpool player last season.
Where does this leave Liverpool’s attack?
This summer Liverpool faced the daunting task of replacing the third most prolific goalscorer in the club’s history, Mohammed Salah. By signing Barcola, they will hope to replace a large chunk of Salah’s goal contributions and threat in behind.
The issue that remains, and one Liverpool seem acutely aware of, is that they still do not have a specialist right winger. Barcola played 77% of his minutes off the left last season, and while Victor Munoz looked lively on the right against Newcastle, he is unproven. Rio Ngumoha, who started, had a torrid time and does not look as menacing on that side.
Liverpool had originally pursued right-footed right-winger Yan Diomande at the start of the window, with the Ivorian instead choosing a move to Real Madrid in a transfer that also cost £120 million. In the last week, Liverpool have had two bids rejected for Brighton’s Yakuba Minteh, who would seem a natural fit. The Reds appear unwilling to meet a newly set asking price of £80 million for a player who, despite obvious ability, bagged just three Premier League goals last season.
A surprising approach for 28-year-old Ismaila Sarr was also rebuffed by Crystal Palace yesterday. It certainly would have been preferable for this window’s marquee signing to play on the right, given the make-up of the squad, but after missing out on Diomande, Liverpool likely believed Barcola’s numbers and ability were far superior to those of any right-sided player left on the market.
Instead, we see a continuation of last year’s strategy to replace Salah in the aggregate, with over £300 million spent on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. It will be interesting to see what Liverpool do next with four days remaining before the Premier League transfer window closes; it may be that, having tried unsuccessfully to sign their top right-wing targets, they elect to stick with the options they have in the hope that Munoz or Barcola can find form in that position.
The introduction of a winger for such a large fee also raises further questions regarding Cody Gakpo’s future. The Dutchman is subject to interest from Tottenham and Manchester City.
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