Liverpool Nearing Signing of Barcola as New Attack Takes Shape

Liverpool step back into Premier League business this weekend with the sense that something is shifting behind the scenes as much as on the pitch.

Andoni Iraola is still waiting for his first league win as Liverpool manager, but he may soon have a devastating new option in wide areas, with the club edging towards the signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcola deal moves towards completion

Liverpool have agreed a fee worth around £120 million with PSG for Barcola, with only the finer points of the transfer still to be thrashed out. Until those are settled, the France international officially remains a PSG player, but the direction of travel is clear.

PSG’s stance has already started to reflect that. Barcola has not played a single minute this season. He was only named among the substitutes for PSG’s UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa, then left out entirely for their Ligue 1 fixtures against Lens and Rennes.

That pattern continued on Friday night. With his move to Anfield drawing closer, Barcola was again omitted from the matchday squad for PSG’s league game away to Lille, underlining how close the deal now feels.

If the transfer goes through at the agreed price, Barcola will become Liverpool’s second-most expensive signing in history, behind only the £125m paid for Alexander Isak.

The numbers behind the fee explain why Liverpool have pushed so hard. Last season, the winger scored 13 goals and added seven assists in 49 appearances across all competitions. He was heavily involved as PSG claimed back-to-back Champions League titles, even if he often had to fight for minutes against the likes of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue in a stacked attacking unit.

For Iraola, who wants aggression and vertical threat in wide areas, Barcola promises exactly that: pace, end product and big-game pedigree, arriving just as Liverpool prepare for their first home match of the campaign against Nottingham Forest in search of a first win.

Wirtz handed the keys as No. 10

While Barcola waits to swap Paris for Merseyside, one of Liverpool’s current stars is already adjusting to a new brief.

Florian Wirtz spent last season under Arne Slot drifting between roles, sometimes as an attacking midfielder, sometimes off the left, never quite anchored to one position in his debut year in English football.

Iraola has wasted no time changing that. During pre-season he made it clear he views the German as his primary No. 10, the creative hub around which Liverpool’s attacking game should revolve.

Speaking to Sky Germany, the 23-year-old explained how sharply defined his responsibilities now feel and lifted the lid on Iraola’s demands.

“He (Iraola) just wants to play power football going forward. Lots of pressing. The tasks you have are actually relatively clear,” Wirtz said.

“Of course, we now have to work on making it work as a team. So not only that everyone does their job well, but that it also harmonizes together. But he definitely makes a very good impression on me.

“I think that he reaches a lot of players with it and that we as a team also understand what he wants from us. I think it's definitely a good start, that the players believe in it, and I hope that it will be successful.”

The message is blunt: intensity, clarity, collective buy-in. With Wirtz entrusted to stitch attacks together and Barcola likely to arrive as a high-priced, high-impact runner from wide, Iraola’s “power football” blueprint is starting to take shape.

Forest at Anfield will offer the first real glimpse of how far that plan has progressed – and how much more dangerous Liverpool might look once Barcola finally walks through the door.