Richard Hughes may have already hinted at Liverpool’s willingness to spend big on Bradley Barcola

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If Liverpool are going to sign Bradley Barcola from PSG this summer, they may well have to break the British transfer record for a second year in a row.After much chasing, the Reds paid £125m to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer.Isak’s move has not really worked out so far due to injuries, but Liverpool may have to pay a similar amount for Barcola in the current window, with it emerging recently that PSG want €150m (around £128m) to part with the winger.While such a deal could receive criticism from neutrals and maybe even some Reds fans, Richard Hughes has already stressed the importance of ‘detaching yourself’ from transfer fees. How high should Liverpool go to sign Bradley Barcola from PSG?

Maybe Liverpool would be better off signing two or three €50m players… Photo Credit: Getty Images/Catherine Ivill/AMA Richard Hughes has already played down the importance of big Liverpool transfer feesAlongside Isak, Liverpool signed the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike for big money last summer, taking their total spend to around £450m.In turn, sporting director Hughes was inevitably asked about the huge sums of money paid out by the Reds in the aftermath of last year’s window.But it seems clear that, at the time, he was keen to play down the actual numbers needed to land the players and suggested that ‘identification of the right player for the right system’ is far more important.He said: “As best you can, you have to detach yourself from what the transfer fee is likely to be.“First and foremost, the identification of the right player for the right system for the right head coach has a fair amount of importance, and I think this is not something that’s necessarily new for the football club and its ownership.”He went on to highlight that FSG are not shy about paying out huge fees for the right talent, citing Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker as historic examples.Hughes continued: “If you look at what was paid for Alisson Becker (£66.8m in July 2018) and Virgil van Dijk (£75m in January 2018) in history and you equate that to what that would be in 2025 money, you’re not far away from where you are with some of the fees that have been spent this summer.“We pay what we believe to be fair market value for a player based on age and based on necessity of that individual to fit into the squad.“In the fullness of time, we hope that, instead of talking now about what a huge fee it is, it has been value for money for the football club whenever we’re making that assessment in the future. And because of the ages of the players that we’ve bought, we’re confident that will end up being the case.”So, based on what Hughes has already said, it seems like as long as Liverpool think Barcola is the right man to fill a void in their attack, they would be willing to pay a big fee to get him.But for now, anyway, he is away competing at the World Cup with France, which will probably mean any potential deal won’t be sorted for a couple more weeks at least.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox