Bradley Barcola Set for Liverpool Debut Against Ipswich
Andoni Iraola is wasting no time with Bradley Barcola.
Barely through the door after a £123m move from PSG, the 21-year-old French forward is already in line for an instant Liverpool debut at Ipswich on Friday night, with his new manager captivated by both his talent and his attitude.
“We are very happy with Bradley; it was our priority to sign a very, very good player in those positions,” Iraola said on Thursday. “He has also come with the right mentality. I like that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He wanted to come here.”
Liverpool agreed an initial £106m fee with PSG, with add-ons taking the deal close to the club-record sum paid to Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer. It is a huge outlay on a player who has not had a proper pre-season and has not kicked a ball in a summer friendly.
Iraola does not seem remotely deterred.
“He is playing well for us in training, and if everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for us tomorrow,” he confirmed.
Is Barcola ready to start or destined for a cameo? Iraola kept that card close to his chest.
“I see him in a good place,” he said. “He has trained for us; indeed, he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season. He has been training, and it’s a decision we have to make. But we have to consider he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season games.”
For Liverpool, deadline day became a story of two wingers. One arrived for a colossal fee. One stayed after a colossal bid was turned away.
Gakpo stays – and still starts
While Barcola signed, FSG shut the door on Manchester City’s £80m move for Cody Gakpo. The Dutch forward held clear-the-air talks with the ownership group after the decision, and Iraola has moved quickly to underline Gakpo’s importance ahead of the trip to Portman Road.
“My relationship with Cody has been very honest from the beginning,” Iraola said. “He has played very well for us so far.
“He was always aware of the situation in the market; we were constantly talking, and I hope we can keep him at the same level. He is in a good place physically and mentally, and I’m very happy to pick him.”
Gakpo’s role could be even more significant given the unresolved question that has hung over Liverpool all summer: how do you move on without Mohamed Salah?
Life after Salah on the right
Iraola insists he is not panicking about the right flank, even after failing to bring in a like-for-like replacement for Salah.
“We prefer at the end to have the best players rather than players specifically for that position,” he argued.
“I’m used at other teams to demand wingers to play on both sides. We’ve played with Rio and Cody now on the right; probably most of the wingers play on the left, but I’ve seen them good on the right.
“Bradley is very open and can play on the left or the right. At Lyon, he sometimes played on the right. It depends on the match-ups, but I’m happy with the wingers we have, and we are going to be able to cope on the right.”
The price tag, though, is not something he wants hanging over Barcola’s head.
“We can’t put pressure on the players to perform because of their price because we’ve seen how much players have cost at other teams this summer. Once he is our player, he is our player!”
Tough test at Portman Road
While the transfer noise has finally died down, the pressure for a first win has not. Liverpool have opened Iraola’s reign with back-to-back 2-2 draws, and now head to an Ipswich side that has already shown it can punch up.
“Ipswich are a team that won their first game at home,” Iraola warned. “Even the other day, in the first half they were the better team until United got the 2-1 and the game opened up. We have to be ready, give our best.”
The lack of a victory clearly grates.
“Definitely. If you don’t win, you are frustrated,” he admitted. “It’s only two games, but we need to win. This game tomorrow, the first two games weeks are the most difficult, but I’m much more comfortable now the market is closed, and we know who we are. We have to perform and do our job.”
The window is shut. The squad is set. A record signing is waiting in the wings, and a wanted man has been told he remains central to the project.
Now Iraola needs something simple, and overdue: three points.
