Liverpool chase £78m star who’s a bigger talent than Barcola

Remarkably, Liverpool’s incredible summer of spending has yet to leave Arne Slot’s squad with an air of completeness.

Particularly, Virgil van Dijk’s central defence is rather light, especially now that Joe Gomez has suffered a minor Achilles injury following the £35m sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Then turn your head toward the frontline. The incredible additions of rising superstars such as Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike suggest that Liverpool are shaping up to have one of the deadliest frontlines in the game (if they didn’t already).

However, Luis Diaz left for Bayern Munich last month, and now, Darwin Nunez is on the verge of completing a permanent transfer to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.

With Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott both mooted to be off, it’s not desirable but imperative that Liverpool add another attacker to their mix, and FSG appear to have one or two show-stopping names in mind.

Liverpool chasing another forward

The dream transfer target is, of course, Alexander Isak. You might have heard that Liverpool are interested in signing the Newcastle United striker, and rumour has it he’s rather keen on the journey toward Anfield too.

Unfortunately, Newcastle’s transfer market has been a pitiful thing, with Eddie Howe no doubt feeling hot under the collar. Any number of top targets have been missed on Tyneside, and with Benjamin Sesko now hoping to sign for Manchester United, Isak’s sale is less certain, for a reliable replacement must be signed, else he will not leave.

Last month’s initial £69m signing of Hugo Ekitike has tempered Liverpool’s need for the Premier League superstar, but it would still be a stunning signing.

However, sporting director Richard Hughes is a man of deep nous, and he hasn’t placed all his eggs in one basket. Liverpool are emerging as contenders for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, though completing a summer deal will be difficult indeed.

If neither move comes to fruition, there’s another option waiting in the wings who might be perfect for Slot’s system.

Liverpool in for for Barcola upgrade

According to L’Equipe, Liverpool are in the race to sign Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, who has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Rodrygo, 24, has been anticipated to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, having struggled for form last year and slid down the early pecking order as the Xabi Alonso era shapes up.

Liverpool’s interest in Barcola might have just become public, but their admiration for Rodrygo also has substance, and the South American’s suspected price tag has been reported to fall into the region of £78m.

Why Liverpool want to sign Rodrygo

Rodrygo came under fire for his performances with Los Blancos last season. Such is his level; such are the expectations at Real Madrid.

His 25-goal contribution return still matched that of Diaz and Cody Gakpo at Liverpool, perhaps illustrating the calibre of forward Slot would add to his ranks, on par with the Reds crop yet capable of so much more.

And given that he would likely play as a left-sided forward, a rare experience in recent years at Real Madrid, Rodrygo’s desire to move to Anfield, should he move at all, is understandable, for he notched six goals and six assists from only 12 games as a left winger last year.

Even though Real Madrid’s selfless superstar had been played out of position for the majority of the recent season, he still managed to impress, with former teammate Luka Modric even claiming he is one of the club’s “world-class superstars.”

When collating his seasonal data with Barcola’s, you perhaps begin to see that his underlying quality suggests he would rise to a higher level than Barcola could.

There’s no denying that Barcola has enjoyed the better season, winning the quadruple with PSG and notching 42 goal contributions across all competitions.

But when digging deeper, it becomes clear that Rodrygo is the superior player of the two, and given that they both fall into a similar financial ballpark, is the one Liverpool must push for.

For example, the French winger is regarded as a silky, high-speed dribbler, but he averaged only one dribble per match in Ligue 1 last year and, more concerningly, at a success rate of just 27%, as per Sofascore.

In fact, FBref also record that he ranked among the bottom 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across all of Europe last season for take-on success rate, underscoring the amount of failed efforts to drive the ball forward.

That’s not to negate his quality; Barcola has just played an instrumental role in a Champions League-winning campaign after all. However, Rodrygo knows his way around Europe’s elite competition, a two-time champion and a force to be reckoned with at the business end too.

Barcola, moreover, has yet to polish his shooting boots. Though he scored 17 goals across PSG’s Ligue 1 and Champions League campaigns, he also missed a whopping 33 big chances.

Conversely, Rodrygo only missed three big chances, albeit he also netted just 11 times across his disappointing season. Still, that makes a strong comment on his prolific ability.

When he’s on his A-game, the Brazil international is “unstoppable”, so says Madrid columnist Kiyan Sobhani.

Ultimately, the fact that Liverpool fans are mulling over whether they fancy Barcola or Rodrygo as potential alternatives to Isak, having already signed Wirtz, Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili, illustrates just how far this club has come.

The Premier League champions are in the most enviable of positions, but if given the pick of the bunch, Hughes might want to move for Rodrygo over Barcola.