Liverpool hold talks to sign “one of the best LWs in the world”

Liverpool’s malaise deepened on Sunday, defeated by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Arne Slot’s side will probably qualify for the Champions League, but there cannot be confusion over the Anfield side’s landslide in standards this season, so far removed from the illustrious Jurgen Klopp era and Slot’s success in winning the Premier League last year.

Repetition is crucial in football, inculcating practices, ingraining behavioural and tactical patterns that lead to sustained success. However, the inverse is also true, and Liverpool have developed some nasty habits this season.

It needs to change, and if the manager isn’t going to leave this summer, Liverpool need to bring in the right players to turn things around. In particular, Liverpool need forwards.

Liverpool among favourites to sign new forward

Mohamed Salah will leave this summer, quitting one year ahead of the end of his contract. He’ll need replacing, of course, but Liverpool probably also need a left-sided winger.

Cody Gakpo has not been at the races this season, and while he scored at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Dutch winger has been far too predictable on the left wing. He needs to add more moves to his game, but Liverpool cannot rely on him as their first choice next year, and an upgrade must be signed.

FSG can’t muck this one up, but if TEAMtalk are right, and Liverpool are among the favourites for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, then Liverpool may yet return to the top.

Barcola has been at the centre of contract discussions in Paris for some time, but he and his elite outfit are at an impasse, with Barcola second fiddle to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

He wouldn’t come cheap. Valued at £62m by prior reports, the Frenchman has a number of high-profile suitors lining up both in the Premier League and across Europe, with the Reds, as well as Manchester United and Arsenal said to have been approached by the player’s representatives as they sound out his options for the summer.

Why Barcola would be a Gakpo upgrade at Liverpool

Barcola, 23, has played an important part in one of the most impressive sporting sides of modern years, hailed by analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson for developing into “one of the best left wingers in the world”.

Fleet-footed and remarkably unpredictable on the ball, the France international is simply a victim of PSG boasting the most impressive frontline in the world. At Liverpool, he would have the opportunity to become the main man in the final third.

Since the start of last season, he has scored 33 goals and supplied 28 assists. Just imagine the heights he could reach at a Liverpool side who would roll out the carpet to the talismanic role that Salah will soon vacate.

One thing’s for certain, Gakpo hasn’t done anywhere near enough to suggest that he is the man to take them forward.

Barcola is also three years Gakpo’s junior, and playing a more peripheral role at PSG. While the statistics suggest that the two wingers are neck and neck, the eye test paints a very different picture. Barcola is more dynamic and then some, hailed for his “exceptional” talent by Enrique.

Not only a potent attacking force, Barcola wins duels and creates with consistency. In fairness, Gakpo does this too, but Barcola has something unique about the way he carries the ball forward. Moreover, he can play across the frontline.

PSG might consider the up-and-coming superstar as an untouchable part of their project, but if reports are to be believed, then the Frenchman’s future may well be uncertain, with this an opportunity that Liverpool could pounce on.

There’s no reason why Gakpo and Barcola couldn’t coexist in Liverpool’s attack, but there’s only one man who will end up as the focal point.

Liverpool are in a transitional period, but there’s no sureness that they are moving in the right direction. However, by signing Barcola and upgrading on Gakpo, Liverpool’s chances of entering the ascendancy and staying there would increase and then some.