Liverpool's Transfer Dilemma: Barcola vs. Williams
Liverpool’s eyes are fixed on Bradley Barcola. The numbers say they should be looking elsewhere.
The Paris Saint-Germain winger sits at the top of the Anfield wishlist, and the player is understood to be open to the move. Liverpool are working towards a bid. Then comes the jolt: PSG are reportedly demanding around £145 million.
In this market, that figure no longer sounds like fantasy. It sounds like the going rate. Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for £117m. Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for £116m. Fees that would have shattered records a few years ago now act as reference points.
Barcola belongs in that bracket of highly coveted young attackers. He impressed for Luis Enrique’s side last season despite often operating in the shadow of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the Parc des Princes. Across all competitions, he delivered 13 goals and seven assists in 49 appearances, numbers that back up the eye test of a winger who can stretch defences and hurt opponents in transition.
He carried that form into the international stage as well. During the World Cup with France, he occasionally nudged Desire Doue out of Didier Deschamps’ starting XI, no small feat in a squad stacked with attacking talent.
On paper, it all fits. On the balance sheet, it does not.
Barcola or the better value on the market?
For Liverpool, the issue is not the player. It is the price and what that price would mean for the rest of the squad.
At 23, Barcola could become the club’s third British transfer record in a year. Anfield has already seen £116.5m spent on Florian Wirtz and £125m on Alexander Isak. Both deals underlined the club’s willingness to push hard for elite talent. They also tightened the margin for error.
Barcola would tick plenty of boxes for Andoni Iraola: pace, directness, production, and experience at the top level. Yet there is another winger, operating on the other side of the Bay of Biscay, who offers a similar – and in some respects superior – profile at a far more palatable cost.
Nico Williams.
The comparison is hard to ignore. Williams brings the same explosiveness, the same ability to take on defenders one-on-one, but with a few key advantages. His dual-footed delivery gives him variety in the final third, and he has built a reputation for consistency against deep defensive blocks – the kind of low-sitting opponents Liverpool face almost every week at Anfield.
He is not just another cog at Athletic Club. He is their talisman.
Last season, Williams finished with six goals and seven assists, a return tempered by the fact he spent a significant stretch on the sidelines. When fit, he carries the attacking burden, already accustomed to being the main man in a European side and to handling the scrutiny that comes with it.
Stylistically, he is a more traditional winger than Barcola, hugging the touchline, stretching the pitch, and creating space for those inside him. For Iraola, who values width and intensity, that profile fits cleanly into his tactical blueprint.
Then comes the crucial detail: price.
A £77m release clause was reportedly written into the new contract Williams signed last July, shortly after Barcelona tried to prise him away from Bilbao. That figure changes the entire equation. It offers Liverpool a high-ceiling wide player at almost half of Barcola’s projected cost, while leaving room to reinforce other areas.
The budget, the squad, and the risk
Liverpool cannot ignore the bigger picture. A £145m move for Barcola would swallow a vast chunk of the club’s remaining transfer budget and heap enormous pressure on a player still early in his career.
The Wirtz situation is a warning. Since his big-money arrival, he has struggled to fully convince. Each subdued performance drags his fee back into the conversation, the number attached to his name as much as the shirt on his back. Liverpool cannot afford to repeat that dynamic on the opposite flank.
Williams, by contrast, has already been described as a “bargain” by Luis Figo – a word that rarely applies to attacking talent in today’s market. His performances in La Liga over recent seasons have lit up San Mamés and attracted interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. When those two giants hover, you usually know you are looking at a serious player.
For Iraola, the decision is not just about who offers the higher ceiling in a vacuum. It is about how to reshape a squad that has slipped away from the title race and needs more than a single marquee signing to close the gap.
A new left-back is required after Andy Robertson’s departure. Questions around Curtis Jones’ future mean midfield could soon demand attention again. Depth, balance, and flexibility matter as much as one blockbuster addition on the wing.
So Liverpool stand at a familiar crossroads. Spend big on the headline name and hope he justifies a record-breaking outlay, or move smart for a winger like Williams, whose release clause leaves space to strengthen elsewhere.
In a league where margins are brutal and mistakes are expensive, the answer might define not just their attack, but their entire season.
