Liverpool have been told they must pay £140 million to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, a fee inflated by Chelsea's record-breaking purchase of Morgan Rogers this summer.
PSG's valuation
According to French outlet Mercato, PSG believe £140m is a fair price for the 23-year-old, who still has two years left on his contract. Talks over a new deal have ceased, with Barcola indicating he wants to leave the reigning European champions. The fee would make Barcola the third most expensive transfer in history, behind Neymar (£200m) and Kylian Mbappé (£165m).
Market impact
PSG's demand is a response to the enormous sums paid this summer by Chelsea (£117m for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, a British record) and Manchester City (£116m for Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson). Liverpool themselves spent £125m on Alexander Isak from Newcastle last season.
Liverpool's new head coach, Andoni Iraola, has so far made only one signing: Spanish World Cup winner Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m. Speaking at his first press conference, Iraola said: "Obviously we've signed two players already but we need more players – we know this. The club is working on this. Me as a coach, selfishly, you want the players here [on] day one, ready to train from the pre-season, but we understand that football doesn't work like this. I know the club is working hard to get those signings and I'm trying obviously to help also."
Pundit views
Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes Barcola would be a transformative signing. He told BOYLE Sports: "Signing Bradley Barcola would be an amazing coup for Liverpool because he provides the pace and directness we've been missing on the left wing. We've been spoiled with Sadio Mané and Luis Díaz, and now we need Barcola to get the fans off their seats again."
Ex-Manchester United and France forward Louis Saha also praised Barcola. He told Live Football Tickets: "Bradley Barcola is a terrific player. He has already won two Champions Leagues, and he could even win the World Cup over the next few weeks, his achievements for such a young player are staggering. He has enormous potential, and I'm not surprised Liverpool are looking at him. They need a replacement for Mohamed Salah, and Cody Gakpo has looked uncomfortable at times for them out wide. Barcola could easily fill either of those positions."
