Since the weekend defeat to Manchester City, in which Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak were all absent, the focus has been on Liverpool's big-money attacking players Much of this ire has been directed towards Florian Wirtz, but there are tentative discussions about Bradley Barcola too, given that he is yet to get off the mark in red.
Well, it seems as though Barcola's new team mates on Merseyside are still backing the Frenchman to be an important player. Speaking to the assembled media in Austria on Tuesday evening, ahead of Liverpool's Champions League clash with LASK, Miloš Kerkez was full of praise for the 24 year old, calling for patience:
"We have played a few games but we need a bit more time. He is a real talent. He showed at PSG he has great skills and can help us a lot. We just have to talk more and build that connection more and it will help us get a better combination down the left... in training he is really good."Miloš Kerkez on Bradley Barcola
The Hungarian left-back also added that "everyone needs some time when you arrive at a club like this", which is a fair point. Barcola has made just six Liverpool appearances so far, totalling a miserly 336 minutes, which does not offer an enormous sample size.
Nevertheless, so far, the 24 year old has not justified his enormous price tag. Not only is he yet to register a goal nor an assist, the France international's tallies of five shots and four chances created to date do not exactly leap off the page.
He was also heavily criticised for his national team performances during the break, specifically after Belgium were beaten at the Stade de France just over a week ago. Hooked when les Bleus were a goal down, Zinédine Zidane's team would go on to win 4-1, but to blame Barcola for this seems a bit farfetched. It was probably more the fact that three world class players, namely Désiré Doué, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki, were the trio introduced.
Nevertheless, especially in the absence of Isak and Gakpo, which will once again be the case against LASK at Raiffeisen Arena on Wednesday evening, Andoni Iraola could really do with Barcola producing some magic. He scored six times in the Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain, a key figure as they won back-to-back titles, so could he open his Liverpool account against the Austrian champions?
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