Liverpool have reportedly identified a potential long-term successor to Mo Salah in one player who’s recently stood out at the ongoing European Under-21 Championship.
According to Football Transfers, the Reds have been monitoring Lyon attacker as a future replacement for the legendary Egyptian.
However, the report specified that it isn’t clear whether the Anfield giants will move for the 20-year-old this summer or wait until future transfer windows, with the focus for July and August set to be fixed on bringing in a centre-back and one more midfielder.
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Although Barcola’s France team suffered a surprise quarter-final exit from the Under-21 Euros last weekend, he’s been one of the standout players of the tournament, with two goals and two assists in four appearances (Sofascore).
One of those strikes, which came in a 4-1 win over Switzerland, saw him drive into the penalty area with a surging run before playing a one-two with a teammate and neatly dispatching to the net with a first-time finish (Equipe de France on Twitter).
As noted in a scout report by Ligue 1 Analysis, he ranked among the top 6% of forwards in the French top flight last season for dribbles per game, marking him out as a player who excels in one-on-one situations against opposition defenders.
He plays mainly as a right winger, which’d make him a natural replacement for Salah in the future, although he can be deployed anywhere across the forward line. Also, he’s already made a decent impression at senior level, with seven goals and 10 assists for Lyon last term (Transfermarkt).
Hopefully Liverpool will still get a few more years out of the Egyptian King, who’s been consistently brilliant throughout his time so far at Anfield, but when the moment eventually comes to find his replacement, Barcola looks very capable for stepping into those sizeable boots.