Liverpool have just over a week until they kick off their Premier League campaign against Newcastle United, and Andoni Iraola still has work to do in the transfer market. The Reds are currently chasing Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, with the French champions nearing the signings of Mika Godts and Ferran Torres, which could accelerate negotiations over the Frenchman's future.
Iraola's 'huge' problem
Iraola's side have yet to add incomings in midfield this summer, a situation Jamie Carragher believes could cause harm to the club's progress this season. Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, the Reds icon said: "The midfield for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool. I haven’t watched all the pre-season games, but I watched the last two against decent opposition - it was Leeds and then Monaco. And the problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in midfield. That has not gone away at all."
Carragher explained that Dominik Szoboszlai's return to midfield, having played a portion of last season at right-back, will only exacerbate Liverpool's issue in the engine room. He added: "That’s only going to get bigger with the deployment of [Dominik] Szoboszlai in midfield. It looks like they’re going to play him, rather than as a number 10, almost as a central midfield player alongside [Ryan] Gravenberch and that is just pure box-to-box."
Barcola update
The sticking point in a deal for Barcola looks to be the fee. PSG are said to be demanding £145m for the 23-year-old, with Liverpool hoping a compromise can be found to secure his arrival. Despite the lack of clarity over the figure, Fabrizio Romano reported on his YouTube channel that the two clubs remain in constant contact with the financial aspect of the deal holding up a move.
Romano claimed that personal terms with Barcola have already been verbally agreed, with the Reds his first choice. The winger was an unused substitute in PSG's UEFA Super Cup victory against Aston Villa on Wednesday.
