Liverpool's Winger Search: Barcola vs Savinho

Liverpool’s search for a new winger is turning into a high‑stakes waiting game, with two very different profiles sitting on the board and a third club threatening to move first.

Barcola price tag tests Liverpool’s resolve

Bradley Barcola remains a live name on Liverpool’s radar. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is admired, but the numbers around him are eye-watering. A valuation in the region of £145m has been floated, a fee that would demand absolute conviction from Richard Hughes and the Anfield hierarchy.

That conviction is not guaranteed.

Barcola’s talent is obvious, yet he is not a like-for-like heir to Mohamed Salah. The Frenchman is right-footed and often looks more dangerous cutting in from the left than operating on the right. For a club that has spent years building its attacking patterns around a left-footed right winger, that matters.

Salah’s departure at the end of June, after agreeing to terminate his £400k-per-week deal a year early, has left more than just a statistical hole. It has stripped Liverpool of a specific profile: a left-footed, touchline-hugging right winger who bends games to his will from that side. Andoni Iraola does not currently have that weapon in his squad.

Barcola could enhance the attack, no doubt. But he would change its shape rather than preserve it.

Savinho: a closer stylistic fit

That is where Savinho enters the conversation.

The 22-year-old, on the books at Manchester City, has made his stance clear. He wants out this summer in search of regular first-team football, a message relayed via Fabrizio Romano. After being largely overlooked by Pep Guardiola, the Brazilian is pushing for a move that will allow him to grow rather than wait.

“Savinho informs Manchester City about his desire to leave this summer,” Romano reported on X, adding that the winger has told the club he wants to play more and develop, with the decision now in City’s hands.

For Liverpool, Savinho ticks a different set of boxes. He is much closer to the Salah template in terms of role and function, a wide forward capable of operating from the right and threatening goal. If Iraola is intent on maintaining that familiar attacking angle from the flank, Savinho makes more sense than Barcola.

At around £60m, according to TEAMtalk, he would also come at less than half the mooted Barcola fee. Under contract until 2031, City are in a strong position, but a clear desire to leave always shifts the dynamic.

Spurs push the pace

There is a complication. Tottenham.

Romano has stated that Savinho sits at the top of Spurs’ summer shortlist, a priority target identified months ago. TEAMtalk report that Roberto De Zerbi’s side have effectively set a deadline, giving City until the weekend to get a deal done. If the stalemate continues, they are prepared to walk away and look elsewhere, with Cody Gakpo even mentioned as a possible alternative.

That puts pressure on all parties. City must decide whether to cash in or dig in. Spurs want clarity. And Liverpool, for now, are watching.

For some Liverpool supporters, the idea of signing Savinho might feel left-field. He is not yet a global star, not yet a guaranteed headline act. But there is clear talent there, and under the right manager he looks the type who could explode.

The question is whether Liverpool are willing to let Tottenham dictate the tempo of this chase.

If Spurs close a deal quickly, Savinho will be gone. If talks stall or collapse, the door swings open. At that point, with Barcola’s price towering over the market and Salah’s shadow still stretching across the right flank, Hughes may find the opportunity too good to ignore.