Why £85m winger is Iraola’s dream Liverpool target

Many Liverpool supporters will have questions about how Andoni Iraola can deliver success at Anfield, but they will receive their answers during the upcoming Premier League campaign.

The Spaniard has secured a winning start in pre-season after beating Sunderland 4-2 on Saturday night, but you can only gauge so much from non-competitive action.

However, he already appears to have implemented his high-pressing out-of-possession style, with attacker Kieran Morrison claiming the boss told him to do “things he’s never heard before.”

Whilst the 19-year-old is unlikely to be a part of the Reds’ senior squad this term, he will already have the upper hand over any new addition given his close work with the 44-year-old.

FSG’s efforts to land attacking talent have ramped up over recent weeks, but the hierarchy should steer clear of landing one big-money star.

Why Liverpool should walk away from the Bradley Barcola deal

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know that Liverpool have been relentlessly hunting for the signature of PSG left-winger Bradley Barcola in recent weeks.

The Frenchman has appeared as the Reds’ number one attacking priority, with the player himself desperate to leave the Ligue 1 outfit to take on a new challenge.

However, any deal would be a club record for Iraola’s men, as his current employers have slapped a staggering £145m price tag on the forward’s head.

Spending such funds on Barcola would be a massive error on FSG’s part, with the attacker a talented option, but undoubtedly not worth the reported transfer fee.

Throughout 2025/26, he featured 55 times, scoring 13 goals and laying on eight assists – a tally which was bettered by Reds midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai despite featuring in fewer games.

Such a comparison highlights his lack of success within forward areas and raises the question: Would you pay £145m for the Hungarian international who’s been more prolific in forward areas?

The PSG star is also unproven in England’s top flight, which presents an added risk, which could see the forward become another huge waste of money on Merseyside.

How Liverpool can land a bigger talent than Barcola this summer

This summer’s priority for Liverpool is no doubt to add more attacking quality to the senior ranks after the departure of fan-favourite Mohamed Salah at the end of last term.

Hugo Ekitike’s injury and Cody Gakpo’s struggles have only highlighted the need for reinforcements, which could see the Reds’ hierarchy spend a pretty penny once again.

Countless options have been discussed, but a reunion between Bournemouth winger Rayan and boss Iraola could well be on the cards ahead of 2026/27.

It’s been reported by talkSPORT that the Brazilian attacker is considered as the club’s dream target and the manager would be keen on re-signing the 19-year-old star.

They also claim the forward has an £85m release clause which becomes active in the summer of 2027, with a move needing to be conducted to avoid paying over the odds.

It’s unclear how much a deal could cost this summer, but the Reds would be landing a player who can develop into a world-class operator under Iraola’s guidance.

When comparing his stats to those of Barcola last term, Rayan managed to outperform the Frenchman despite 2025/26 being his first season in a top European league.

He netted an impressive tally of five goals in just 15 league games, subsequently registering 0.4 goals per 90 – a figure which the PSG was unable to match.

The aforementioned figure placed him above 91% of attackers in Europe – which demonstrates his superb ability to find the back of the net despite his tender age.

As a result, he achieved a better goal per game and minute per goal ratio than the PSG man, subsequently doing so whilst operating with a lower-quality outfit.

Rayan also managed to provide endless opportunities for other attackers around him, as seen by his tally of 0.9 big chances created per 90 – a figure also two times higher than Barcola.

Such numbers allowed him to provide more key opportunities than 92% of forwards on the continent – which makes him a huge all-round threat within the final third.

Even at the recent World Cup, the Brazilian outperformed the £145m star, subsequently completing nearly two times more of the dribbles he attempted in the United States.

Given the difference in immediate quality and staggering price difference, it should be a no-brainer for Liverpool to make a move for Rayan instead of Barcola.

His experience of working with Iraola could also make him an immediate star at Anfield, as he already knows the demands of the Spaniard’s high-intensity system.

A move for his signature could be difficult given he only joined the Cherries in January, but he’s a player who could star for the next decade on Merseyside given his tender age.

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