Liverpool’s most important transfer window in recent years has ended with plenty of disappointment, but there is still a lot to assess. The true verdict on the Reds’ summer business will only come at the end of the season — and perhaps much later, when the careers of the new signings are ultimately judged.
Richard Hughes did manage to bring in some exciting players, but there is little doubt that Liverpool failed to strengthen certain key areas of the squad that urgently needed attention.
With the window now closed, both Liverpool and their recruitment team have plenty to reflect on.
Liverpool’s biggest transfer mistake exposed
Andoni Iraola’s squad now heads into the season without a natural right-winger.
Liverpool have four talented wide attackers in Victor Muñoz, Rio Ngumoha, Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola, but all four have spent the majority of their careers operating from the left.
That leaves Liverpool lacking a specialist right-sided winger capable of directly filling the void left by Mohamed Salah.
The Reds had opportunities to address the problem. Yan Diomande was considered a target, while Ibrahim Mbaye was also monitored. In the final days of the window, Liverpool additionally explored possible moves for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaïla Sarr.
However, none of those deals ultimately materialised.
As a result, Liverpool begin the campaign with an attack that arguably lacks the balance and natural width it needs.
Liverpool may have replaced Salah without anyone noticing
So, who is actually replacing the Egyptian King?
The answer may be someone many people have overlooked.
Liverpool’s decision to keep Cody Gakpo rather than accept an £85 million offer from Manchester City means their direct replacement for Salah is not a traditional right-winger.
Instead, that role could fall to Bradley Barcola.
The Frenchman is capable of operating on the right. He began his career at Lyon playing from that side and has also featured there for Paris Saint-Germain.
More importantly, Liverpool needed to replace not only Salah’s position but also his elite attacking quality. While Barcola is not a natural right-winger, he possesses the level of talent required to eventually fill that enormous void.
His numbers underline his quality.
Over the past calendar year, Barcola has recorded the highest expected-goals figure among wingers in Europe’s top five leagues, averaging 0.50 xG per 90 minutes.
That puts him ahead of Lamine Yamal (0.49), Luis DÃaz (0.44) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (0.41).
He has also averaged 0.52 goals per 90 minutes, the third-highest figure among the group, behind only Yamal (0.58) and Michael Olise (0.53).
Those numbers suggest Liverpool may already have a player capable of taking on the enormous challenge of replacing Mohamed Salah.
