Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola and, inset, new signing Bradley Barcola next to the Liverpool badge
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is thrilled with his capture of Bradley Barcola
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is prepared to hand “very, very good player” Bradley Barcola an instant debut for the Reds in Friday’s trip to Ipswich after hailing the £123m signing’s “mentality”, while also insisting he has no qualms about selecting Cody Gakpo after the club blocked his exit to Manchester City.
The Reds splashed out a whopping fee to bring in French attacker Barcola one the penultimate day of the window, paying PSG an initial £106m but with the fee set to hit just shy of the £125m club record paid to Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer.
While Barcola has been unable to enjoy a full pre-season, nor build up any kind of momentum over the summer, Iraola insists he has no qualms about throwing his new signing straight in at the deep end.
“We are very happy with Bradley; it was our priority to sign a very, very good player in those positions,” Iraola told a press conference on Thursday morning.
“He has also come with the right mentality. I like that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He wanted to come here.
“It’s a good first sign, and being the player he is, he has come with the willingness to help us. He is playing well for us [in training], and if everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for us tomorrow.”
Asked if he is ready to start or could be used off the bench, Iraola added: “Good question. I see him in a good place.
“He has trained for us; indeed, he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season. He has been training, and it’s a decision we have to make. But we have to consider he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season games.”
It was a tale of two wingers for Liverpool in the closing day of the window, with Barcola signing and with FSG deciding to block another, Gakpo, from leaving the club amid a £80m offer from Manchester City.
The Dutch star has already held clear-the-air talks with FSG, and now Iraola has spoken out to make clear his plans to still use him – starting with Friday’s clash at Portman Road.
“My relationship with Cody has been very honest from the beginning,” Iraola explained. “He has played very well for us so far.
“He was always aware of the situation in the market; we were constantly talking, and I hope we can keep him at the same level. He is in a good place physically and mentally, and I’m very happy to pick him.”
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Iraola insists he has no fears over the balance of his squad after essentially failing to replace Mohamed Salah on the right wing, and he stated: “We prefer at the end to have the best players rather than players specifically for that position.
“I’m used at other teams to demand wingers to play on both sides. We’ve played with Rio and Cody now on the right; probably most of the wingers play on the left, but I’ve seen them good on the right.
“Bradley is very open and can play on the left or the right. At Lyon, he sometimes played on the right. It depends on the match-ups, but I’m happy with the wingers we have, and we are going to be able to cope on the right.”
However, in a note of caution, he insisted: “We can’t put pressure on the players to perform because of their price because we’ve seen how much players have cost at other teams this summer. Once he is our player, he is our player!”
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Iraola knows Ipswich will prove no pushovers on Friday and he admits his side face a tough task claiming a first win under his regime.
“Ipswich are a team that won their first game at home. Even the other day, in the first half they were the better team until United got the 2-1 and the game opened up. We have to be ready, give our best,” he said.
Asked if he is frustrated not to win a game yet after successive 2-2 draws, he added: “Definitely. If you don’t win, you are frustrated.
“It’s only two games, but we need to win. This game tomorrow, the first two games weeks are the most difficult, but I’m much more comfortable now the market is closed, and we know who we are. We have to perform and do our job.”