Every transfer window has at least one saga that dominates the headlines. Barcola’s potential move to Liverpool has been that story this summer. Given that Liverpool are crying out for a right winger to replace Mohamed Salah, one of their greatest ever players, it might seem surprising that their attention has been fixed on Barcola, who has spent 77% of his minutes at Paris Saint-Germain on the left side of the attack.
However, rather than signing a like-for-like replacement, Liverpool seem keen to bring in a fast forward who is willing to press and can play on either flank. Andoni Iraola’s approach is built on relentless pressing and fast transitions; Barcola’s numbers suggest he would fit in perfectly. The 23-year-old’s peak sprint speed of 32.7km/h was the fourth highest in Europe’s top five leagues last season; he made 109 runs in behind in the Champions League – among the highest tallies in the competition; and he won back the ball in the final third more often than any Liverpool player (per 90 minutes).
With Salah gone, Liverpool need goals; Barcola scored 11 in Ligue 1 last season and 14 the year before. He looks tailor made to be the kind of vertical threat Iraola needs at his new club. Despite signing Viktor Gyökeres for £63.7m last summer, Arsenal find themselves in the familiar position of needing to solve their supposed striker problem.
That might sound strange given they won the Premier League title and reached the Champions League final last season. They were also the second top scorers in the Premier League (after Manchester City). However, they only scored 71 goals (the lowest by the champions since Leicester lifted the trophy a decade ago) and 29 of them came from set pieces – a Premier League record.
Gyökeres was their top scorer in the league but he only scored 14 goals – fewer than Erling Haaland (27), Igor Thiago (22), Antoine Semenyo (17), Ollie Watkins (16), João Pedro (15) and Morgan Gibbs-White (15). Thierry Henry knows what it takes to score goals for Arsenal. When the club’s record scorer picks out a striker he likes, it is worth listening.
He played at the Olympic Games, the Copa América, but I don’t hear him saying he’s tired. He plays in everything and, the way he does it, I like him.” This is what Arsenal need: a versatile forward who is almost a blend of Kai Havertz and Gyökeres. The 26-year-old can hold up the ball or drop deep to link up play, and he can also hurt teams with his pace and penalty-box instinct.
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