Liverpool have reportedly been looking ‘extensively’ at Bradley Barcola throughout the season, according to Jacque Talbot.
The Frenchman is valued at £11.8m (according to Football Transfers’ valuation system), though a long-term contract keeping him at Lyon until the summer of 2026 should raise that figure one might imagine if clubs come calling.
“One Liverpool have been looking at extensively over the season. Maybe to come in and give Salah a bit of a breather into next season where possible,” the reliable Football Transfers journalist spoke on his YouTube channel.
“Liverpool do tend to go for every single competition, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League… they’ve had a lot of tired legs.
“The extent of the interest: they really like him. Whether they move for him remains to be seen but there is quite a strong interest there – they’ve looked at him for the whole season and that interest remains.”
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a prolific end to the campaign following a change in management, with Laurent Blanc handing more minutes to the young forward with 14 goal contributions in 32 games this season (goal or assist every 133.14 minutes).
Able to play across the forward line, the attacker would bring a superb degree of versatility to the Reds squad, potentially allowing Jurgen Klopp to hand star man Mo Salah a break throughout the campaign where necessary.
Will Liverpool sign yet another forward this summer?
Given the extent of the repair required in the middle of the park, not to mention concerns closer to goal, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll prioritise additions at the opposite end of the field.
That having been said, the surprise u-turn in Curtis Jones’ career following Jurgen Klopp’s decision to invert Trent Alexander-Arnold will have undoubtedly inspired some interesting conversations behind the scenes.
Despite that, the gap between young players (in Harvey Elliott, Stefan Bajcetc and our No.17) and senior stars (Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara) does present a clear problem for our recruitment team to fix.
Simply put: we need experienced midfielders that sit comfortably in the middle of that age-range, ideally around the 24 years of age mark (think Mason Mount and Alexis Mac Allister).
That doesn’t necessarily mean Jones should be sidelined at the first opportunity, though we do need to think big picture after such a disappointing season, by our own high standards, on the pitch.
That being said, if there happens to be any money left over, perhaps as a consequence of a miraculous recovery in the league and shock finish inside the top four, providing cover for Salah couldn’t hurt.