Sky Sports reveal what sources close to Bradley Barcola said about Liverpool talks — Yahoo Sports

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Sky Sports reveal what sources close to Bradley Barcola said about Liverpool talks

Talks are reportedly ‘ongoing’ between Liverpool and Bradley Barcola’s camp.

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Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reports on X (formerly Twitter) that ‘nothing is advanced’ as far as negotiations with PSG are concerned.

The Ligue 1 champions are thought to be looking for a fee well in excess of £100m.

PSG want an ‘extraordinary offer’ for Bradley Barcola

From our perspective, it’s difficult to imagine Liverpool’s decision-makers having much in the way of wiggle room beyond the £100m – at the very least, not significantly beyond that price point.

We’re already painfully aware of the fact that the Reds don’t have the same kind of lofty budget they were working with last summer. So a nine-figure deal for the France international is already likely going to leave us counting pennies to cover off other key areas of the squad.

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Of course, we have to also accept that Luis Enrique’s personal position on the matter of Bradley Barcola’s refusal to sign a new contract means that PSG’s hand is perhaps not as strong as they might have first presumed.

So we’re not entirely convinced that the Ligue 1 outfit will actually be able to secure the kind of “extraordinary offer” they’re supposedly holding out for.

Liverpool may have to be wary of Arsenal bidding war

There is, of course, the possibility that Arsenal’s potential involvement in the race could convince PSG to hold firm on their internal valuation of the versatile winger.

Though we would feel inclined to point out that the Gunners’ hesitance in meeting Aston Villa’s asking price for Morgan Rogers (being unwilling to go above £80m) indicates that the race for Barcola is too rich for their blood.

Desperation could always change matters, but if Arsenal really rated the left-sided winger higher, they would have surely already signposted their interest as clearly as Liverpool have.

And, ultimately, if he’s not a key target, we have to question the logic behind anyone suggesting the Premier League title holders would be prepared to blow their valuation of Rogers out of the water for the France international.

It just doesn’t seem like the kind of deal Arsenal would be prepared to seriously engage in – not without Bradley Barcola’s asking price first plumetting.