Arsenal have been tipped to infuriate Liverpool by hijacking their move to sign Bradley Barcola, which is dragging on after weeks of talks.
Weeks ago, Liverpool pivoted from Yan Diomande to Barcola after a deal to sign the Ivorian became too complicated to be practical, but little progress has been made, although Fabrizio Romano did report today that an agreement has been reached on personal terms.
Liverpool are reportedly only willing to spend €120m (£102m) on Barcola while PSG are demanding €170m (£145m), and this gap in valuation on the 23-year-old could in theory create a gap for Arsenal to exploit.
The Gunners have been linked with a hijack of Liverpool’s deal for Barcola, and now a new claim suggests that the French international actually prefers a move to London over Merseyside.
Arsenal tipped to steal Barcola from Liverpool
Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, former Arsenal forward Perry Groves argued that Arsenal are a more appealing prospect than Liverpool are as the Reds enter a new era under Andoni Iraola.
Groves said: “I’ve got no dog in the fight, but I would say the Gooners because Liverpool are a team that are in transition.
“Andoni Iraola going in there, imposing his own philosophy, his own style with all the new signings coming in. If you were Barcola and you thought, what out of those two sides have got the most chance of winning the Premier League or Champions League, at the moment you’d say it was Arsenal.
“So it’s whether Arsenal want to go in, if they go in for him, then there would have been advances being made to his people. Because they don’t want to be seen losing out on Vinicius Junior being played like a little kitten with a ball of wool, but Arsenal have to be in for those sorts of players. That’s the level Arsenal are at now.”
Groves added: “I’ve got a source that says he [Barcola] wants to live in London. I can’t tell you [who], I can’t divulge my sources. I’ve got a source. I’ve got a mole. Barcola wants to live in London.”