Liverpool Confident of Beating Arsenal to £100 Mln Winger Bradley Barcola
Liverpool are increasingly confident they can outmanoeuvre Arsenal and Bayern Munich to secure Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola in a deal worth £100 mln.
The Gunners turned their attention to the 23-year-old France international after losing out to Chelsea for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers. However, Liverpool have emerged as the frontrunners to land Barcola as they search for a marquee replacement following Mohamed Salah’s departure.
PSG are willing to sanction the transfer because they are close to signing RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, a player Liverpool also pursued. Diomande’s imminent arrival in the French capital paves the way for Barcola to leave. With just two years remaining on his current contract, Barcola is reportedly seeking a fresh challenge after a standout performance during France’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.
The sale will also generate crucial funds for the European champions as they prepare a £43 mln bid for Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.
Securing Barcola would mark a major statement for new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola. The Spaniard is overseeing a massive squad rebuild after Arne Slot was sacked following a calamitous title defence that saw the club finish fifth and 25 points behind champions Arsenal.
Iraola has already bolstered his squad with the £34.5 mln acquisition of Osasuna winger Victor Munoz and the £55 mln arrival of Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet. The team is currently completing a U.S. pre-season tour and will face Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday before opening their Premier League campaign away to Newcastle on August 23.
