Barcola or Diomande? Ex-Liverpool midfielder names which winger he’d prefer to see at Anfield | OneFootball

Bradley Barcola and Yan Diomande are the two names who’ve been mentioned most prominently in terms of potential incomings at Liverpool so far this summer.

The Reds were strongly linked with the teenage RB Leipzig winger throughout June, and there were even reports that personal terms had been agreed, but the Ivory Coast international is understood to have chosen Paris Saint-Germain as his next club (The Athletic).

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Meanwhile, the current PSG forward is reportedly the Merseysiders’ ‘top target’, and Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Frenchman is no longer considered ‘untouchable’ at the Parc des Princes.

McAteer states his preference between Barcola and Diomande

Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer believes that Barcola would be the more preferable of those two wingers for the Reds to sign, given the 23-year-old’s superior experience at the highest level in European football.

Speaking to Betarades.gr (via Liverpool Echo), the Birkenhead native said: “Between Diomande and Barcola, I would probably go for Barcola right now. I don’t think Liverpool need to buy potential anymore. I think we found out last season that potential doesn’t necessarily work all the time.

“You kind of need to buy a bit more of a finished article and someone you can trust a little bit more. I just think Barcola’s performances in this World Cup have shown more maturity than Diomande.”

Barcola’s greater experience edges it

When analysing the respective statistics of the two wingers in the 2025/26 season, there isn’t a huge discrepancy in their returns, scoring the same number of goals in a broadly similar tally of minutes on the pitch.

Figures from Squawka analysing their underlying performance metrics also show that both players are relatively well-matched, with Diomande perhaps edging it overall.

However, as McAteer justifiably says, Barcola would come to Liverpool with more proven quality at the highest level in Europe, having won the Champions League twice and scored as many senior career goals as his Leipzig counterpart has had first-team appearances.

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On that basis, the Frenchman would seem better placed to give the Reds that instant injection of quality that they need in the wide attacking positions, rather than paying big money for potential to come good in two or three years’ time.

The finances involved in signing the PSG forward will likely be substantial – Luis Enrique’s side reportedly value him in excess of £115m (The Athletic) – but the Anfield hierarchy absolutely must bring in a marquee addition in that role before the summer transfer window shuts on 1 September.

Ideally that’d be Barcola, but Diomande ought not to be ruled out either, even if his apparent preference is for a move to Paris.