Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has revealed that rookie player Bradley Barcola could make his club’s debut against Ipswich Town. The Frenchman recently completed his move to Anfield from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, joining for an initial £106 million ($143m) plus a potential £17m ($23m) in add-ons.
Barcola last played in a France’s 6-4 loss for the third place playoff against England in the FIFA World Cup and recently joined Liverpool.
“We are very happy with Bradley,” Iraola said in his pre-match news conference. “It was our priority, let’s say, to sign a very, very good player in that position. He has come also with the right mentality. I liked from him that he wanted Liverpool a lot.
“He just wanted to come here and I think that is a good first sign. Being the player that he is and the things that he has won recently, he has come with the willingness to help us. I am very happy with him and he trained well with us. If everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for tomorrow’s game.”
Asked whether Barcola could start Friday’s game, Iraola added: “It’s a good question. I see him in a good place, he has trained with us in three trainings. It is true he hasn’t had minutes in preseason but he has been training normal with the group and then it’s a decision we have to make. I think he is in a good place but we have to consider he hasn’t had the minutes in the preseason games.”
Before signing Barcola, the Reds were able to rope in the services of Jérémy Jacquet, Víctor Muñoz and loan signing Ronald Araújo during the transfer window.
“I’m very happy with all the signings we’ve made,” the Liverpool boss said. “Three or four signings with Jérémy, I’m very happy with all the signings. I know the next question — ‘Do you want more signings in other positions?’ At the end the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position.
“There were other options we decided not to take, for different reasons: sometimes it is sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have, sometimes it is economical reasons as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements. But I’m happy now I know what we have, I have a lot of quality in the team and now it is the moment for us, for the players, for me to develop what we have.”
Liverpool will face Ipswich Town on Friday.
