Bradley Barcola says he is not yet at his best for Liverpool, insisting that his best form is still to come as he and his team-mates build an understanding on the pitch. The £123m winger, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, spoke in an exclusive interview at Liverpool’s AXA training facility.
Big-money signings often take time to settle at a new club, and Liverpool has plenty of recent examples. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz arrived in deals that could reach a combined £241m, and the jury is still out on both. Isak has only just started delivering his goal numbers, while many believe Wirtz has yet to get going on Merseyside.
A slow start, then signs of progress
Barcola failed to register a goal or an assist in his first 10 games for club and country this season. Since then, he has shown encouraging signs. He scored a hat-trick in Liverpool’s thumping Champions League win over LASK, then produced back-to-back assists in wins over Brighton and Brentford.
He did not score in the most recent match, a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, but his first-half running caused the Premier League champions plenty of problems. Isak and Wirtz did not start this quickly, so the question is whether Barcola is starting to justify that hefty fee.
“No, I don’t think I’m at my best yet,” Barcola says. “You still haven’t seen the best version of me.
“On top of that, we’re working with my team-mates so that they can make the most of my strengths.
“So yes, I think once we really develop that understanding, things will get much better. And I think things are improving all the time.
“People are beginning to understand my style of play much better. I think it’s going much better.”
Living in Salah’s shadow
Barcola arrived in a different and arguably more demanding situation than Isak or Wirtz. He is the marquee attacking signing following Mohamed Salah’s departure this summer. Salah gave Anfield his world-class ability and delivered titles, while Barcola arrived as a back-to-back European champion with PSG.
Barcola, though, says he feels no pressure, whether from the price tag or from Salah’s legacy.
“First of all, I wasn’t the one who decided the transfer fee,” he says. “So that’s not been my problem.
“And regarding Mo Salah, he’s a legend here. A huge one. He’s done big things here and for that I have an enormous respect for him. But it’s not pressure for me at all.
“I’m not Mohamed Salah, so I’m going to try to contribute whatever I can to the club and make my own mark on its history. I don’t feel any pressure about that.”
Leaving PSG behind
Barcola has already achieved huge success, helping PSG win the Champions League not once but twice in successive years. Even so, he often served as a back-up option under Luis Enrique. He was a regular in domestic football, which helped deliver league titles, but in the biggest Champions League ties against the best sides, he frequently had to settle for a place on the bench.
His competition included Ousmane Dembele, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, ahead of Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha and Joao Neves. That explains why he turned down a new contract, pushed for a new challenge and eventually moved on.
“For me, it was the right time to leave PSG,” he recalls. “I spent so many great years there and I won an enormous amount of trophies. But it was time.
“It was quite difficult because, over there, it was a real family. We’d built something very special together. On top of that, it was very difficult to leave and say goodbye to my team-mates. But ultimately, that’s just how football is.
“When a club like Liverpool comes calling, it’s a great thing. I didn’t have any doubts and I just knew I had to come here. I’m happy to be here, and I hope things go well for PSG.”
Patience required on Merseyside
Barcola won nearly everything at PSG last season, but at Liverpool, patience may be needed. Andoni Iraola has clearly improved the Reds after Arne Slot’s flawed final year, but defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal at Anfield have shown how far they still have to go to reach the elite.
The 1-0 loss to Arsenal was the first time Liverpool failed to register a shot on target at home since Premier League data records began. They sit second-bottom in the Premier League this season for big chances created.
Asked whether expectations should be tempered, Barcola disagreed.
“No, I don’t think it has changed the goals for the season,” Barcola says. “I think we should have done better in a game like this. We had the chances to score, even to win the match.
“I think we need to work on being able to control the game more and play more football. Often, when we’re in a game like this, we resort to long balls. But in my opinion, we should try to keep the ball on the ground more, because we have players with the quality to do that.
“We were really disappointed after the game but we know what we have to do better at. We’re not going to give up. We know that other teams will drop points. So it’s down to us to remain consistent until the end of the season.”
Liverpool face Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Barcola and his team-mates will need to keep working on the training pitch if they want to close the gap on the league’s best.