Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola has become one of the most sought-after players in the transfer window
Bradley Barcola of France and Paris Saint-Germain
Bradley Barcola of France and Paris Saint-Germain(Image: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
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Bradley Barcola has been urged to join Liverpool ahead of Arsenal because he will be given more freedom to express himself under Andoni Iraola.
Barcola has emerged as a major target for the Premier League's last two champions with the player into the last two years of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and showing no sign of penning a new deal.
The 23-year-old was an unused substitute for the UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa on Wednesday night having only returned for pre-season training last week following World Cup duty with France.
Speaking ahead of the match, PSG boss Luis Enrique refused to be drawn on Barcola's situation, with Liverpool having already contacted the French side over the winger but unwilling to meet a reported asking price of between £130million and £145m.
Providing a further update, PSG president Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi admitted to beinSPORTS: “We’re working calmly, we don’t talk too much, we do. I can’t say whether he will leave or not. Today, he is a PSG player. We’ll see!"
And former England international Chris Waddle, who played in France with Marseille, has no doubt over where Barcola should be heading if he seeks pastures new this summer.
"If I was advising Bradley Barcola, I’d be telling him he should go to Liverpool because he’s going to have more license to play his own game for Liverpool under Andoni Iraola to go and do what he does, because that’s why people want to spend all that money to sign him," he said.
"At Paris Saint-Germain, he gets the ball and he takes on his full-back, but if he played for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta would probably be too worried about him losing the ball. Suddenly he’s lost 50% or 75% of his game.
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"If he plays for Liverpool, Iraola is going to want him to play his game, take on the full-back, run at people and create danger. That’s too much of a risk for a manager like Arteta. If I was Barcola and I was picking between the two, I’d go to Liverpool."
Speaking to Snabbare, Waddle added: "He needs to ask himself how he needs to play and how the teams wanting to sign him play.
"Are they direct or will they not encourage you to play to your strengths? Why would you want to play for a team like that? I think Barcola needs to really think about his football and what he wants to do on the pitch.
"It’s pointless rocking up at a club that’s a bad fit, it doesn’t work out, and you wonder why you ever made the move."