Michael Owen Warns Liverpool Against £145m Bradley Barcola Deal
Michael Owen has warned Liverpool not to let desperation over replacing Mohamed Salah drag them into what he calls an “extortionate” deal for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola.
Liverpool have turned to the 21-year-old as a potential long-term successor to Salah after missing out on Yan Diomande and Michael Olise. Barcola is understood to be open to the move and has reportedly told PSG he does not intend to extend his current contract, which runs until 2028.
The problem is the price.
PSG are said to want around £145m for the France international. Liverpool, for their part, are thought to be willing to go to roughly £100m. That gap is enormous, and Owen believes the Premier League club should be ready to walk away if the French champions refuse to budge.
“That sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? For someone that’s not proven in the Premier League,” Owen told the Liverpool Echo when asked about the £145m valuation.
“Obviously played at the highest level, but, yeah, at some point you’ve got to say no, haven’t you? If it gets to £145m, I mean, wow, that’s eye-watering.”
Owen’s warning cuts to the heart of Liverpool’s dilemma. They need a top-class wide forward. Everyone knows it. And that, he says, is exactly what’s driving the prices through the roof.
“I mean, I went on record a couple of months ago saying if I was Liverpool, I’d go and try to get Jared Bowen from West Ham to replace Salah. I thought that made a lot of sense,” he said.
“But, obviously, that doesn’t look possible anymore, so they’re going to have to.
“And the problem is everybody knows you’re desperate for a top-class player, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose. That might be just what you have to do.
“But it sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? £145 million, that’s the number that you’re saying.”
A Shrinking Pool of Elite Wingers
For Owen, the Barcola debate is not just about one player, but about a market that suddenly feels short of genuine, top-level wide forwards – especially at Anfield.
“You know, it used to be Salah, and Mane and Diaz,” he reflected.
“There’s so many great wide players [at Liverpool] over the years. And it feels like there’s a dearth of them, of course, now at Liverpool.
“They probably need two. They certainly need one.”
That is the tension running through Liverpool’s summer: the need is obvious, the options are limited, and every selling club can see them coming.
“So, yeah, I mean, they do probably need to invest heavily in that type of position. And he [Barcola] seems to be one that’s available, that’s got the quality. And it sounds like there’s no smoke without fire.
“It sounds like they’d be interested, but a lot will depend on the price, I guess.”
Liverpool’s recruitment team now stand on a familiar knife-edge: pay the premium to secure a potential star of the next decade, or hold their nerve and risk going into the new season without a ready-made heir to Salah on the right.
