Why Liverpool like Bradley Barcola - and why he can't be their only attacking signing

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After being made to wait for his opportunity to start more games, he finished the 2022-23 season in fine fettle, scoring five times and assisting eight before securing a move to the capital.In that first season in Paris, 2023-24, Barcola was named the signing of the season, but hasn't been a week-in, week-out starter since joining PSG.This term, Barcola has actually played 500 fewer league minutes than last season - when he scored 14 and assisted 10 in the league - with just one game remaining, making rumours of a move that bit more credible.After an absent first-half display against Lens on Wednesday, Barcola was substituted at half-time and manager Luis Enrique gave a cryptic response when asked about his withdrawal, which Le 10 Sport interpreted as an indication he had been hooked for his application levels.That is not necessarily something supporters will want to see from a Liverpool transfer target, but it does suggest a rift may have emerged between the player, the manager, and their respective expectations.Nevertheless, Barcola's numbers in terms of attacking contributions have remained consistent. This season, he has scored 10 and assisted once from just 20 league starts, while assisting four and scoring twice in the Champions League as PSG reached a second successive final.The first thing that jumps out when watching him is Barcola's pace and stamina.

The 34.4km/h top speed he clocked in the Champions League this season puts him in the 98th percentile, and no player has recorded more sprints in Europe's top competition this season.This is a major feather in his cap, and allows him to take advantage of the kind of weighted through balls Florian Wirtz loves to play.At 0.53 goals per 90, Barcola is in the 93rd percentile for Ligue 1 attacking midfielders and wingers, scoring roughly once every two games.He has slightly underperformed his xG (10.49), with an xGOT (expected goals on target) of 9.4, but across his career he has overperformed his xG in two of four seasons with little deviation either way, suggesting he is a reasonably reliable finisher.With a shots per 90 of 3.46, Barcola is only in the 87th percentile, but he is a more accurate shooter than most in the league - in the 92nd percentile for shots on target per 90 with 1.54.While he's capable with both feet and can play across the forward line - another key attribute as Liverpool look for more varied chance creation - he isn't as two-footed as Diomande, having scored seven times with his right foot in all competitions and three times with his left.Barcola's attacking positioning is strong, and the Frenchman has even scored two headers this season when playing in a central role, utilising clever movement to escape his markers.The most typical Barcola effort is a curler from the edge of or outside the box, like the opening goal he scored against this season's Ligue 1 runners-up Lens earlier in the season.Barcola scored both goals in that game, and has opened the scoring on five occasions this season - a handy attribute when a player is needed to take a game by the scruff of the neck.Nevertheless, he scores plenty of tap-ins too, thanks to his awareness and ability to adjust his body shape quickly. Despite only registering one assist in the league this season, Barcola has an xA (expected assists) of 4.5, suggesting he should really have had more with better finishing from his team-mates.He has so far created 2.02 chances per 90 (putting him in the 79th percentile - good, but not elite), but in terms of big chances Barcola's quality begins to show through.He has made 0.59 big chances per 90 in Ligue 1 this season, putting him in the 96th percentile - but this drops dramatically to 0.28 per 90 in the Champions League, in which PSG typically face more challenging opposition than in their own domestic league.This is not to say that Barcola cannot deliver on the biggest stages - last season, this same metric was 0.49 per 90 - but he has struggled to reach his top form this season.He is comfortable crossing with both feet, but has a cross completion rate of just 20% - which again suggests he is more of a finisher than a creator.Nevertheless, his in-swinging crosses on his right foot, making use of the same technique that allows him to bend shots from range, look dangerous and could find more regular purchase when aimed at an out-and-out striker like Alexander Isak rather than the more technical, rotating attackers of PSG.A long pass completion rate of 85.7% bodes well for transitional play, which Liverpool have lacked this season, while an all-round pass completion rate of 83.5% indicates a player that doesn't always look to play the safest ball - another attribute the Reds need to inject a sense of urgency.It is hard to judge how all this could translate to Liverpool from his performances in Ligue 1, considering PSG typically dominate possession in every game and have more space in which to operate than the increasingly-agricultural Premier League.What could be cause for concern, though, is Barcola's efficiency on and off the ball.

He also wins just 43.4% of his duels in Ligue 1 and only 36.8% in the Champions League.At 23, he will likely become savvier with age and experience, but these numbers do encourage you to pause when considering how he might adapt to the more physical and defensive Premier League.Even so, this is through no lack of effort - Barcola will track back to help his defensive team-mates, and is effective in the press, being in the 93rd percentile for possession won in the final third per 90 in Ligue 1 (1.22), though again this drops to 0.57 (45th percentile) in the Champions League - albeit PSG have been unafraid to play more pragmatically in that competition this season.The verdictBarcola is an intriguing player, but Liverpool would be wise to exercise caution before committing a large transfer fee for the player. But Barcola hasn't yet shown the levels of consistency or all-round involvement in play that would suggest he could be a game-changer by himself for Liverpool.Indeed, his 56.9 touches per 90 in Ligue 1 puts him in just the 61st percentile - by far the least involved of PSG's main four attackers when he is on the pitch.While he is certainly more proven than Diomande, who only has one full season to make sense of, a direct Salah replacement Barcola is not.He should replace some of the Egyptian's goals, though, and it could be in Liverpool's interests if purchasing two wide options to seek out more of a Barcola-esque goal threat along with a facilitator-type player (possibly Diomande?) to reduce the burden on Isak during Hugo Ekitike's long injury layoff.Barcola has played in the central role, too, which would help mitigate squad depth concerns if Liverpool don't look to directly replace Ekitike in the squad next season.The move to a central striker system would also perhaps give Barcola the space and time to develop his already-good goalscoring ability and link-up play without feeling the burden of being Liverpool's main goalscorer, but a player more suited to beating players in one-v-ones is essential if Liverpool are to avoid the slow attacking play fans have witnessed all too often this season.All the noises indicate this is one to watch, and Barcola would add some much-needed energy, speed and likely end product for the Reds, but his lack of physicality (blistering pace aside) means he could require time to adapt and should not be the only piece of attacking business the Reds look to wrap up this summer.