Liverpool hold contract talks with ‘one of the best LWs in the world’

Liverpool’s worries deepened after they lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Arne Slott’s side will likely qualify for the Champions League, but there should be no confusion that this season’s Anfield squad has been a landslide in terms of standards, a far cry from the glorious Jurgen Klopp era and Slott’s Premier League-winning success last year.

Repetition is very important in soccer, and inculcating practice and ingraining behavioral and tactical patterns leads to lasting success. However, the reverse is also true, with Liverpool picking up some bad habits this season.

Things need to change, and if the manager does not leave this summer, Liverpool need to bring in the right players to turn things around. Liverpool in particular need forwards.

Liverpool are favorites to sign new forward

Mohamed Salah is set to leave the club this summer, a year before his contract ends. Of course, substitutions are needed, but Liverpool probably also need a left-sided winger.

Codi Gakpo has not raced this season and although he did score at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Dutch winger was all too predictable on the left. He needs to add more movement to his game, but Liverpool cannot trust him as first choice next year and needs to sign an upgrade deal.

FSG can’t afford to spoil this, but if TEAMtalk is right and Liverpool become one of the favorites for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, then Liverpool could be back on top.

Barcola has been at the heart of contract negotiations in Paris for some time, but he and his elite group are at an impasse, with Barcola second only to Hviča Kvaratscheria.

He won’t come cheap. The Frenchman, valued at £62m by previous reports, has a number of high-profile suitors in the Premier League and across Europe, with the Reds, Manchester United and Arsenal also said to have been approached by the player’s agent as they consider their summer options.

Why Barcola is an upgrade over Gakpo at Liverpool

Barcola, 23, has played a key role in one of the sport’s most impressive sides of modern times and has been praised by analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson as having developed into “one of the best left-wingers in the world”.

Quick-footed and incredibly unpredictable with the ball, the French international is simply a victim of PSG, which boasts one of the best front lines in the world. He will have a chance to become a key player in the final third at Liverpool.

Since the start of last season, he has scored 33 goals and recorded 28 assists. Imagine the heights he could reach in a Liverpool team that carpets the talismanic role that Salah will soon be leaving.

One thing is for sure: Gakpo has done nothing to suggest he is the one to lead them forward.

Barcola is also three years Gakpo’s junior and plays a more peripheral role at PSG. While the statistics suggest that the two wingers are evenly matched, the eye test paints a very different picture. Barcola is more dynamic and has been praised by Enrique for his “extraordinary” talent.

In addition to powerful attack power, Barcora also wins duels and exhibits consistent creativity. To be fair, Gakpo does the same thing, but Barcola has something unique about the way he carries the ball forward. Additionally, he can play across the front lines.

PSG may consider the up-and-coming superstar an untouchable part of their project, but if reports are to be believed, the Frenchman’s future is likely to be uncertain and Liverpool may jump at the chance.

There is no reason why Gakpo and Barcola cannot coexist in Liverpool’s attack, but in the end only one will be central.

Liverpool are in a period of transition, but I’m not convinced they’re going in the right direction. However, signing Barcola and upgrading Gakpo would give Liverpool an even greater chance of gaining the upper hand and staying there.