So it’s been a couple of weeks since I last wrote about Liverpool. And in that time, the Reds have signed a grand total of zero players. Great. I wish Richard Hughes would spare a brief thought for us content guys.
Nevertheless, Liverpool seem to be chasing Bradley Barcola, and the word on the street says they’re at the front of the queue. Ibrahim Mbaye is another fresh target, with Hughes finally recognising the glaring need for wingers at Anfield.
With the two Parisians linked with moves to Merseyside, Cody Gakpo is being tipped for a switch to Tottenham Hotspur. We’ve waited long enough for this stuff. Maybe we’re seeing the building blocks of a plan?
So without wanting to go into detail on any individual just yet — we tend to wait until deals cross the line before delving deeper on this Substack — I do like Barcola, and I think he’s arguably the best winger on the market with the possible exception of Vinícius Júnior.
But the weird thing about Liverpool going for him is his preferred spot lies on the left. The wing that’s already occupied by Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Muñoz.
Barcola will be Liverpool’s marquee signing if he joins, but he’ll be arriving in a place that’s already kinda stacked. That’s strange considering there’s currently nobody for the right wing. And most supporters are convinced Andoni Iraola also needs a right-back and centre-back to strengthen his ranks.
One of the curious things about Hughes’ tenure as sporting director has been his apparent perspective on quality versus tactical fit. Like, Florian Wirtz arrived for £100m last year when Liverpool didn’t really need a new number 10.
Jeremie Frimpong joined as a dangerous replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, but one who isn’t a true right-back. And now, we’re seeing evidence that Hughes is favouring Barcola over lesser but perhaps more suitable players — in a positional sense — like Yankuba Minteh, for example.
It’s an odd situation we find ourselves in. If Hughes lands Barcola, he’ll have brought a load of top individuals to Anfield during his spell overseeing the club’s transfer business. But at the same time, he’ll have seriously messed with the balance of the group, too.
Wirtz, Barcola, Frimpong, Alexander Isak, Milos Kerkez, Jérémy Jacquet. You can’t not take note of these guys. But if you’re Iraola, it’s your job to find a way to create a functional system. Good luck.
As was the case 12 months ago, everyone wants to be ahead of the ball. Your full-back options are very offensive, and your midfield department isn’t really equipped to offset that given the attacking tendencies of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
As for Mbaye, it’s an interesting rumour. A curveball, but one I’m not that surprised about given the lack of options on that side of the pitch. For my next YouTube video — subscribe here — I’m thinking about running through that market to showcase exactly what I mean.
