Report: Liverpool still chasing two attackers before deadline | OneFootball

Liverpool Transfer Latest: Barcola Chase, Gakpo Uncertainty and a Squad Short on Firepower

Liverpool do not need anybody to dress this up. The issue is plain enough. A new manager is preparing for the start of the season, the greatest goalscorer of the modern era at the club has gone, and the attack still looks one injury away from a proper problem.

That is the heart of the latest Liverpool update from The Athletic, and it lands with the sort of thud supporters will recognise. There is excitement in some areas, there is movement in the market, and there is a sense that time is starting to press. When a side has title ambitions, or even hopes of stabilising after a turbulent campaign, you do not want to be entering the final days of the window with so many questions around the front line.

The key line from the report says it all: “Yes, because the attacking areas are still light and Liverpool have not yet replaced their legendary goalscorer, Mohamed Salah.” That is not melodrama. That is the reality of where Liverpool are. Salah’s departure was always going to leave a scar. Replacing his goals, his reliability and the fear he put into opponents was never going to be straightforward. Leaving it this late makes it feel even heavier.

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Andoni Iraola has now had a glimpse of some fresh faces. “New signings Jacquet and Ronald Araujo played their first minutes for the club as Andoni Iraola’s side wrapped up their pre-season schedule with a 2-0 win over Como.” There is reassurance in that, because Liverpool have at least acted to address the defensive side. The report also notes that “the defensive shortage has been sorted, with Jacquet returning and Araujo arriving.” It matters, because Liverpool have spent too much recent time looking patched together at the back.

Still, nobody goes into a season dreaming about centre-backs while worrying who is going to score the goals. That is where the anxiety lives.

Barcola pursuit defines Liverpool transfer window

If there is one name carrying the mood of this Liverpool transfer window, it is Bradley Barcola. The report states: “The pursuit of new signings also continued as Liverpool discussed a deal for the top target, Bradley Barcola, who sat out of Paris Saint-Germain’s Trophee des Champions defeat to Lens.” That is the sort of line supporters latch on to immediately. It hints at possibility, at movement, at something happening behind the scenes.

Yet hope in the transfer market has a habit of being expensive. The figures attached here are eye-watering. “The 23-year-old has been high on the list of targets all summer but PSG will have to lower their valuation of around £145million for Liverpool to do business.” That number tells you two things. First, Liverpool clearly rate the player highly enough to keep the conversation alive. Second, there is still a serious gap between admiration and agreement.

The wide areas have been a concern all summer and that has not changed. The piece says plainly: “The wide areas have been a focus all summer and Liverpool are hoping to find a compromise with PSG for Barcola.” Compromise is the operative word. Liverpool are not going to be pushed around for the sake of appearances. They may need attacking reinforcements badly, but there is no sense in paying a sum that warps the whole squad build.

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Barcola feels like the kind of signing supporters could instantly believe in. He is young, dynamic and carries the sort of threat Liverpool have lacked since the attack started to thin out. He would not be a direct copy of Salah, because nobody is, but he would represent intent. The problem is that intent in this market can cost fortunes, and Liverpool are already being judged against the ticking clock.

There is also mention of Ibrahim Mbaye, another PSG player linked with the club. But here, the report pours a little cold water on the chatter. “Team-mate Mbaye has also been discussed this summer but senior Liverpool figures insist their interest has only been exploratory to date and strongly dismissed suggestions that personal terms have already been agreed with the 18-year-old.” That sounds less like a deal in the works and more like the usual background checking every big club does. Interesting, yes. Imminent, no.

Forward depth remains Liverpool’s biggest concern

This is where the report gets serious, and where Liverpool supporters will feel the knot tighten. “With the season opener now just five days away and the transfer window coming to a close in a fortnight, time is of the essence.” There is no hiding from that. Liverpool are running short on time, and when the season starts, shortcomings stop being theoretical.

The piece cuts straight to the central worry: “Although Liverpool can still name a strong starting XI, the big concern is the depth of the squad.” That is exactly it. Plenty of teams can put together a decent first side in August. The hard part is living through the autumn, the winter, the injuries, the dips in form, the suspensions, the endless churn of fixtures. That is where squads are tested, and right now Liverpool’s forward options look too few.

The list provided is hardly overflowing: “Iraola has only Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha, and Victor Munoz as realistic forward options, with Lewis Koumas and Federico Chiesa offering the next layer of support.” Read that slowly and it becomes obvious why there is tension. There is quality in parts of it, promise in others, but there is also fragility. Too much rests on players staying fit, settling quickly, or making a leap before anyone can know whether they are ready.

That is why the Barcola chase matters so much. He is not merely an attractive name. He looks like the answer to an obvious need. Liverpool have lost elite output and need fresh pace, invention and conviction in the final third. Until they land that sort of player, every pre-season positive will come with an asterisk.

Gakpo and Curtis Jones leave Liverpool with more questions

Squad depth gets even more uncomfortable when outgoings are still possible. Cody Gakpo is one of those names hanging in the air. Elsewhere in the wider report it says: “The situation with Cody Gakpo has not yet developed. While Tottenham remain interested and have spoken to the player’s representatives, there has been no formal negotiation between the clubs, and Liverpool maintain that the Dutch attacking midfielder, who has four years left on his contract, is not for sale.”

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That should reassure supporters to a point. Liverpool’s line is that he is “not for sale”, and that matters. But transfer windows have a habit of unsettling certainties, especially if a club is still trying to reshape its own attack. If Liverpool do not get one or two forward deals over the line, keeping Gakpo goes from preferable to essential.

Then there is Curtis Jones. His situation feels murkier. “Curtis Jones’ continued absence has raised further questions over the next steps as his future remains uncertain.” That is not what supporters want to hear about a homegrown midfielder who ought to be entering the prime years of his career with the club. The report continues: “Inter want to sign the midfielder, who hasn’t featured for two weeks because of a minor hip injury, but are yet to meet Liverpool’s €40m valuation.”

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It is one to watch because Jones has always embodied something supporters value, technical quality mixed with local understanding. Yet football has a brutal habit of turning sentiment into accounting if a player’s place feels unclear. Liverpool will need to decide whether Jones is part of Iraola’s core, or whether this is the moment to cash in.

There are more moving parts lower down the squad. “Stefan Bajcetic is attracting interest in Spain, but Liverpool haven’t decided on their plans for him.” There are expected loans for Luke Chambers, James McConnell, Kieran Morrison and Calvin Ramsay, while “Other youngsters, including Keyrol Figueroa and Wellity Lucky, may also leave on loan before the end of the window”. That all makes sense in developmental terms, but it underlines the broader point. Liverpool are trimming and shaping, but the area that most needs certainty still looks unfinished.

FSG sale and Liverpool spending add context to busy finish

There is another layer to all of this, and it comes from above the pitch. “Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), sold a stake of around 30 per cent to a consortium fronted by Amit Bhatia and including U.S. billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.” Big ownership news always creates noise, and supporters will naturally wonder what it means for spending power and ambition.

On the numbers, Liverpool’s summer so far has been notable without being explosive. The wider financial section of the report says: “Liverpool have spent £91million, though more than half of that was committed in February on Jeremy Jacquet, and the departures of Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson have lopped significant sums off the wage bill.” That helps explain why there is still room, and perhaps need, for late business.

It also speaks to the strange feel of this window. Liverpool have not been inactive. They have addressed the defence, changed the wage bill and refreshed elements of the squad. But because the glaring vacancy is at the sharp end, everything else feels secondary. Goals decide seasons. Goals change moods. Goals disguise flaws. Lose too many of them and the rest of the architecture starts to wobble.

For Liverpool, the final fortnight of the window now feels loaded with consequence. Barcola remains the headline pursuit. Gakpo’s status must stay firm. Jones’ future needs clarity. Above all, Iraola needs more certainty in attack before the first run of fixtures exposes what the squad has and what it lacks.

There is still time. But only just, and nobody at Liverpool should be pretending otherwise.

Our View

From an anxious Liverpool supporter’s perspective, this all feels far too familiar. You can accept that replacing Salah was never going to be easy, but accepting it and planning properly for it are two different things. The line, “time is of the essence”, is the one that sticks in the throat because supporters can see the same calendar as the people running the club.

If Barcola is the right player, go and get it done, provided the fee is sensible. If he is not attainable, move to the next target quickly. What drives supporters mad is the idea of drifting into the season with a thin attack and then acting shocked when the lack of depth bites in October. Nobody doubts there is talent in the squad, but talent without numbers can unravel quickly.

There is anxiety around Gakpo too. Saying he is not for sale is fine, but Liverpool cannot flirt with the idea of more attacking departures before replacements arrive. That would be reckless. And with Curtis Jones, many supporters will feel conflicted. You do not want to lose good local players, but if the manager does not fully trust him, that uncertainty can linger all season.

There is still a decent team here, maybe even a very good one. But right now it feels unfinished in the one area that matters most. That is why supporters are edgy. They have seen enough windows to know that leaving obvious jobs late can carry a heavy price.

Source: The Athletic