Bradley Barcola Set for Liverpool Debut Against Ipswich
Andoni Iraola is ready to throw Liverpool’s record signing straight into the Premier League grind.
Bradley Barcola, the £123m arrival from PSG, is in line for an instant debut at Ipswich on Friday night, with his new manager openly tempted to start him despite a disrupted summer.
“We are very happy with Bradley; it was our priority to sign a very, very good player in those positions,” Iraola said on Thursday. “He has also come with the right mentality. I like that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He wanted to come here.”
Liverpool paid an initial £106m for the French attacker, with add-ons pushing the deal to just under the club-record fee spent on Alexander Isak last summer. The price tag is huge, the preparation less so. Barcola has not had a proper pre-season or any match minutes over the summer, but his work at the training ground has quickly convinced Iraola.
“He is playing well for us in training, and if everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for us tomorrow,” the Spaniard confirmed.
So will he start or come off the bench? Iraola has not decided publicly, but he made it clear the option is live.
“I see him in a good place,” he said. “He has trained for us; indeed, he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season. He has been training, and it’s a decision we have to make. But we have to consider he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season games.”
The temptation is obvious. Liverpool are still searching for their first win under Iraola after back-to-back 2-2 draws, and Portman Road is no place for a gentle settling-in period.
Gakpo stays – and still plays
If Barcola’s deadline-day arrival underlined Liverpool’s ambition, Cody Gakpo’s non-departure told another story. Manchester City tested the waters with an £80m offer; FSG blocked it. The winger stays. Now Iraola has to keep him fully engaged.
The Dutchman has already held clear-the-air talks with the ownership, and his manager sounded relaxed about using him immediately.
“My relationship with Cody has been very honest from the beginning,” Iraola said. “He has played very well for us so far.
“He was always aware of the situation in the market; we were constantly talking, and I hope we can keep him at the same level. He is in a good place physically and mentally, and I’m very happy to pick him.”
Gakpo is part of the solution to a problem many expected Liverpool to address more directly: life without Mohamed Salah on the right.
Life after Salah on the right flank
Iraola is not scrambling for a like-for-like replacement. He is doubling down on versatility.
“We prefer at the end to have the best players rather than players specifically for that position,” he said. He wants wingers who can flip sides, stretch defences, and adapt.
“I’m used at other teams to demand wingers to play on both sides. We’ve played with Rio and Cody now on the right; probably most of the wingers play on the left, but I’ve seen them good on the right.
“Bradley is very open and can play on the left or the right. At Lyon, he sometimes played on the right. It depends on the match-ups, but I’m happy with the wingers we have, and we are going to be able to cope on the right.”
The fee for Barcola will follow him all season, but Iraola is determined to strip that weight off his shoulders as quickly as possible.
“We can’t put pressure on the players to perform because of their price because we’ve seen how much players have cost at other teams this summer,” he warned. “Once he is our player, he is our player!”
Tough test at Portman Road
All of that now feeds into a tricky away trip. Ipswich have already shown they belong, winning their opening home game and pushing Manchester United hard.
“Ipswich are a team that won their first game at home,” Iraola said. “Even the other day, in the first half they were the better team until United got the 2-1 and the game opened up. We have to be ready, give our best.”
Two games, two 2-2 draws. Encouraging moments, no victories. Iraola did not hide his irritation.
“If you don’t win, you are frustrated,” he admitted. “It’s only two games, but we need to win. This game tomorrow, the first two games weeks are the most difficult, but I’m much more comfortable now the market is closed, and we know who we are. We have to perform and do our job.”
Now the window is shut, the squad is set, and the excuses have gone with it. Barcola is through the door, Gakpo is still in red, and Iraola’s Liverpool have to show what “knowing who we are” really looks like on a tight, hostile night in Suffolk.
