Liverpool supporters are desperate to see some movement in the transfer market after a quiet window so far.
The Reds had been expected to be busy after a dismal season under Arne Slot, but have so far added only Victor Munoz to their struggling squad.
The World Cup has certainly been a factor in the slow-moving nature of the market, but with only four nations now left in contention, transfers should start to happen across Europe.
How high should Liverpool go to sign Bradley Barcola from PSG?
Maybe Liverpool would be better off signing two or three €50m players…
On Sunday, a big Premier League transfer story emerged as Aston Villa swooped in to hijack Newcastle’s £51m effort to sign Johan Manzambi, who starred at the World Cup for Switzerland before their quarter-final exit at the hands of Argentina.
Big, fast and clearly capable of finding the net regularly, Manzambi looks like he could have potentially done a job for Liverpool. But while the Reds were never in for the 20-year-old, his move to Villa may have inadvertently cleared the path for them to sign top target Bradley Barcola.
Arsenal may be falling out of Bradley Barcola race
Perhaps surprisingly given their free-spending of recent years, Villa’s £51m move for Manzambi will make him their club record signing. With fans seemingly under the impression that they would have to tighten the purse-strings amid financial concerns, that suggests that Villa expect some big money to be coming in from somewhere.
Where that could arrive from this summer is hardly a secret. Morgan Rogers has been valued at £130m, and with Arsenal heavily reported to be keen on signing him, Manzambi’s move makes it more likely that the England international will be on his way to the Emirates Stadium.
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In the meantime, Arsenal have also been credited as being major rivals to Liverpool in the race to sign Barcola, but the narrative so far has been that Rogers is their preferred target.
As a result, if Manzambi heading to Villa makes Rogers’ exit more likely, that in turn will mean Arsenal dropping interest in Barcola to focus on the former Man City academy starlet. Getting Barcola will still have its obstacles, but this could be the first signal that one major obstruction is about to be removed.
How likely are Liverpool to sign Barcola then?
Arsenal’s interference in the Barcola deal is definitely a concern for Liverpool. Mikel Arteta’s side are the current champions and look like a far safer bet to challenge next year than the Reds do at present.
Whether Liverpool fans admit to it or not, the pull of living in London is always big for players arriving from overseas as well, and that can be the deciding factor more often than supporters probably realise.
If that is removed, it is obviously a major boost for Liverpool, who would then be seen as the only realistic destination for Barcola.
Nevertheless, it has been consistently reported that Paris Saint-Germain do not want to lose the France international, and if they are to sell him, they would be looking recouping a fee of well over £100m.
As they showed in their pursuit of Yan Diomande earlier this summer, Liverpool do have that money to spend this summer, but that does not mean they will be willing to spend it on Barcola.
With no other high-level options really available to them, though, and a winger signing badly needed, it definitely feels possible that a deal could be done.
Arsenal’s presence could feasibly be seen as the biggest reason Barcola would not join Liverpool this summer, but with Rogers’ move to the Gunners looking more and more likely, fans should be quietly confident that the PSG star will be coming to Anfield this summer.
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