23 Jul 2026 09:39:27
Hi all,
Liverpool have received encouragement from PSG to submit a formal bid for Barcola. A verbal bid in the region of 85 million pound has been touted in previous talks.
Barcola’s camp is pushing for the move.
23 Jul 2026 10:14:32
Thanks, VG, great to hear!
23 Jul 2026 10:15:20
God damn, Vic, I hope this is true!
I am very excited by the prospect of getting him in, feel like he is something we are missing, as he will actually go at defenders and cross the ball, something our current wingers (Gakpo) don't do. Think that's how we get the best out of Isak but giving him service instead of playing through the lines constantly.
23 Jul 2026 10:20:59
Good news and thanks, Vic, for the update, but don't understand where Barcola fits in LFC squad once Ekitike is back and Isak fit (if he is ever). He plays either LW or striker these days, although I believe at Lyon he was a RW.
I think he is great and worth the hype and interest, but don't see why needed unless we are willing to give him time to adjust.
23 Jul 2026 10:28:42
Would love to know how much we've spent trying to fill the hole that Sadio Mane left.
23 Jul 2026 10:32:12
This would be most excellent if we can get it done. Nice one, VG.
23 Jul 2026 10:38:33
LFC8, not sure we have spent that much really. We recruited Gakpo in Jan 23, with Sadio having left in Jun 22. Jota also covered.
The only expensive LW we have therefore bought since Mane is Gakpo, and his feel was (give or take) £40m, which we would at least recoup that and most likely make a decent markup.
I like what I have seen of Barcola, so if a deal can be done then great.
23 Jul 2026 10:44:05
Nice, cheers VG!
23 Jul 2026 10:48:19
Didn't we say the same when we signed Salah Strado? Mane played on the right and was ripping it up, so why did we need a right winger?
The rest is history.
Barcola is a quality winger who we can utilise on both wings and even through the middle.
He gives us options and raw pace, which we are sorely missing.
Isak, Wirtz, Munoz, Ekitike, Rio, Barcola, Gakpo/Diomande. Any combination of those players would give me confidence that we have the firepower to win a lot of football matches.
23 Jul 2026 10:50:42
He'll be fantastic. Bring him on!! Great actual info. VG. You're one of the very few reliables. imo anyway!
23 Jul 2026 10:57:47
Top man, VG. Thanks.
23 Jul 2026 10:58:10
@Riosstepover,
Who is our Mane? We have no solid winger - Salah's gone, Gakpo is certainly no Mane, and we have Ekitike and Isak as CF who will eventually come back to the first team. I agree, Barcola is great, but I don't see where he belongs unless you're willing to let your namesake go.
Munoz has more capability to play both wings than Barcola at this point, but I guess we see what happens. It may be that there is no clear Salah successor.
23 Jul 2026 11:13:45
@Chicken, "He will actually go at defenders and cross the ball, something our current wingers (Gakpo) don't do."
Are you sure? The Athletic piece yesterday very much seems to show that he prefers to cut inside, just like Gakpo does.
Even at the WC, it was more often than not Mbappe out wide than Barcola, who was mainly a sub, and always playing on the left.
For £40m, I might take a punt it would work, but for the sums being discussed, it seems more likely that he would disrupt the game of others rather than enhance the team.
23 Jul 2026 11:35:30
I'd argue we've signed a lot more than just Gakpo trying to replace Mane. With how versatile and interchangeable Mane and Firmino were (both able to play LW or CF), we've pretty much exclusively been trying to replace them up to now as Salah was a mainstay at RW and has only just left.
Chiesa, Gakpo, Diaz, Jota, Nunez, Isak, Wirtz etc have all been signed to play LW and/or CF. You could easily argue that none of them have reached the standards set by our Sadio and Bobby. Now, we've signed Munoz as well so hopefully this time will be different.
23 Jul 2026 11:38:14
Never replaced Mane, what an odd discussion. If we have a hole at LW, it surely must be a Diaz-shaped one. Did alright for us, I'd say.
Not 100% convinced by Barcola. He gets past defenders for fun, but not really the end product to show for it.
Then again, neither did Salah before he came to us. If he hits the gym and learns to produce like Mo did, I won't mind FSG bringing their big wallet on their Paris trip.
23 Jul 2026 11:48:44
I don't know what WC you were watching ADS. And 40m . you wouldn't even buy Sancho with that loose change. Wake up.
23 Jul 2026 12:04:36
Ads Barcola was France's starting left wing. He only came out the side for Doue when he was on a yellow, and Deschamps was protecting him against a 1 match ban.
In comparison to Gakpo, I would have thought that it was plain to see he's a hell of a lot faster, so although they're both inside forwards, Barcola has the pace to get past his marker before crossing or shooting, unlike Gakpo, whose main move this year has been 'boot it at a crowd of defenders and hope for the best'.
23 Jul 2026 12:13:08
At this recent WC, both Gakpo and Barcola got 3 goals and 1 assist, and both played a similar number of minutes (about 380), although Barcola featured in 8 games (mostly a sub) and Gakpo in only 4.
I know we were all frustrated by Gakpo's ineffectiveness last season, but I don't see any evidence that Barcola is a more effective player once you adjust for the difficulty of the opposition in the PL versus Ligue 1. I think previous seasons and international tournaments show Gakpo can also be very effective, and defenders can't manage him.
Barcola is a faster sprinter, but mainly seems to run into blind alleys and not convert those chances.
It's a matter of opinion, but I don't see Barcola as a massive upgrade on Gakpo, and we already have three who can play LW, whereas we have only Chiesa at RW.
Much as I'd love Chiesa to suddenly become deadly, because his attitude is great, I don't think we should count on it.
23 Jul 2026 12:13:52
Cheers Victor, let's get this done and move on to other targets.
23 Jul 2026 12:17:51
Was just going to reiterate what Shanks and Jude said there, in response to you, Ads.
Barcola spent most of his time on the wing and countlessly went to the byline to cross the ball or recycle possession, as stated before he only came out when it was necessary. Maybe you are thinking, how at PSG he is on the bench, but that is down to Enrique preferring Doue, which does not take away from the talent of Barcola, as Doue is exceptional at what he does in that PSG team, but the fact that Deschamps rates Barcola enough to have him as his starting LW gives me enough confidence to accept he is a quality player.
I also would rather not have access to the media if it was only the Athletic, like most journalists these days all just put out what they think will get most clicks, or info they are being fed by clubs to have people not talk about things, ie somehow they were all confident Slot was staying, yet it was obvious he was out the door.
23 Jul 2026 12:18:57
Diaz's end product wasn't great, didn't cross a lot either, and ran into blind alleys a lot as well.
23 Jul 2026 12:23:41
Cheers, Victor, good addition for me.
23 Jul 2026 12:27:04
Fatwallet, and he is still doing the same things you called out even after he left us.
23 Jul 2026 12:58:41
Are we really ribbing Lucho?
Good luck finding wingers that are always available, press for 90+ minutes, cover the fullback, win aerial duels, and can beat a defender while delivering a decent G/A.
I can tell you that Bradley Barcola is not all of those things.
23 Jul 2026 13:15:44
Damn, can't believe I forgot Lucho!
We did make a healthy profit on him, and will do the same with Gakpo if he leaves, so it's not like it's been a money-pit position.
Sometimes you get players who stay for ages - VVD, Salah etc - and sometimes they are more transitory.
We can only recruit the most appropriate for us.
23 Jul 2026 13:23:02
I wonder if other fans complain as much as people do in here when their club is linked with an exciting player who just had a very decent WC for a top country with top competition in his position.
Seems odd.
23 Jul 2026 13:46:22
I'll be excited to see a front 3 of Ekitike-Isak-Diomande/Barcola with Wirtz sitting in behind.
24 Jul 2026 00:47:46
Is either of Barcola and Diomande good with sitting on the bench?