Liverpool Closing In on Barcola as Iraola Seeks First Win
Liverpool step back under the Anfield lights this weekend with a new storyline building off the pitch as much as on it. A deal for Bradley Barcola has been agreed, Nottingham Forest are coming to town, and Andoni Iraola is still hunting his first Premier League win as Liverpool manager.
His team looked raw and erratic in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle United last Sunday. Flashes of attacking intent, gaps at the back, and a sense that something is missing. Barcola is being lined up to change that.
Barcola left out as Liverpool move nears
Liverpool have struck an agreement worth £120 million with Paris Saint-Germain for the winger, with only the finer details of the transfer still to be ironed out. Until those are settled, Barcola remains a PSG player on paper, but the Champions League winner has already made his decision on his future.
PSG’s recent team sheets tell their own story.
Barcola has not played a single minute this season. He was only a substitute for the UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa, then dropped completely from Luis Enrique’s squads for the Ligue 1 fixtures against Lens and Rennes. As his move to Liverpool edged closer, he was again left out of the matchday group for Friday’s league clash with Lille.
The message from Paris is clear: they are preparing for life without him.
If Liverpool finalise the deal, Barcola will become the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history, behind only Alexander Isak’s £125m move. That is serious backing for Iraola just weeks into his tenure.
It is not hard to see why Liverpool are paying that kind of money. Barcola hit 13 goals and 7 assists in 49 games across all competitions last season, numbers that came while he was fighting for minutes in a star-studded PSG attack. He played a significant part in their back-to-back Champions League triumphs, often having to scrap for game time against Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.
Now he is on the verge of becoming the new focal point of a Liverpool rebuild.
Wirtz handed the keys as Iraola shapes ‘power football’
While the Barcola deal gathers pace, one of Liverpool’s current stars is quietly becoming central to Iraola’s plans.
Florian Wirtz endured a stop-start debut season in England under Arne Slot, shuttling between roles as an attacking midfielder and an inverted option off the left. He never quite settled, never quite owned a position.
Iraola has moved quickly to change that. During pre-season, the Spaniard made it clear he views Wirtz as his No. 10 – the creative heartbeat of this new Liverpool.
Speaking to Sky Germany, the 23-year-old outlined how sharply defined his instructions now feel. Iraola, he explained, wants “power football going forward. Lots of pressing.” The jobs on the pitch, Wirtz said, are “relatively clear”.
The emphasis is collective. Wirtz talked about the need not just for individuals to execute their roles, but for the entire system to “harmonize together”. Iraola, he added, has already made “a very good impression” on him and, crucially, seems to be reaching the dressing room.
“I think that he reaches a lot of players with it and that we as a team also understand what he wants from us,” Wirtz said, stressing that belief in the approach is already there. The hope now is that conviction turns into results.
Liverpool’s first home game of the season against Forest will offer an early glimpse of whether Iraola’s high-energy blueprint, with Wirtz at its centre and Barcola potentially on the way, can turn promise into points.
