Liverpool's Attacking Puzzle: Barcola's Impact on Gakpo

Liverpool have lived in the eye of the storm all summer. A club braced for a rebuild, a fanbase expecting sweeping change, and yet with a month to go in the window, the squad feels oddly stuck between eras.

Everyone knew certain areas needed surgery. The front line, in particular, has become the most delicate operation of all.

Hugo Ekitike is sidelined until at least January. Mohamed Salah, the fixed point of Liverpool’s attack for years, is now a Trabzonspor player. That is not a tweak. That is a void.

Names have flooded the rumour mill, but there’s a clear theme: most of the forwards linked are left-sided, not natural right-wingers. In modern football, that isn’t a disaster – coaches crave versatility and fluid front threes – but if you want someone to step straight into Salah’s role, you normally look for a specialist on that flank.

Liverpool, though, are circling a different profile. And that has direct consequences for Cody Gakpo.

Barcola in, Gakpo down the ladder

Bradley Barcola is the name that refuses to go away. If he arrives, the message is blunt: Gakpo becomes the back-up.

“Bradley Barcola would be signed to play left wing for Liverpool, not the Salah replacement,” Anfield Sector reported on X. “He would come in ahead of Cody Gakpo in the pecking order should a deal be agreed with PSG, with negotiations progressing slowly but the PSG hierarchy currently unwilling to compromise on a €150m+ valuation.”

That valuation is eye-watering and is precisely why talks are dragging. Paris Saint-Germain are in no rush to bend. Liverpool, historically, do not throw money at problems without a clear plan.

But the plan here is obvious enough. Barcola would walk into the squad as the first-choice left-winger. Gakpo, once seen as a central piece of the new-look attack, would be shunted down to a supporting role.

For a player who only recently looked like one of Liverpool’s most dangerous forwards, that is a brutal shift.

Gakpo’s slide and the rise of alternatives

The frustration with Gakpo has not come out of nowhere. In 2024-25, he was excellent. Operating from the left, battling Luis Díaz for minutes, he delivered one of his best seasons in a Liverpool shirt. Direct, decisive, productive – he looked like a long-term starter.

Then came 2025-26.

With Díaz out of the way at the start of the campaign, Gakpo had the lane to himself. Instead of kicking on, his form dipped. Badly. Across most of the season, he struggled, his performances flattening just as Liverpool needed someone to seize the role.

The discontent grew loud enough for supporters to demand change. They wanted Rio Ngumoha. Eventually, Arne Slot listened. The youngster was handed starts, and with that, the idea of Gakpo as an automatic pick on the left evaporated.

From there, the links to new left-wingers felt inevitable. The club clearly began scanning the market for an upgrade. Among the names, Barcola stands out.

Why Barcola changes the equation

The attraction is obvious. Barcola produced 20 goal contributions across all competitions last season and did so while operating across the entire front three. Left, right, through the middle – he moved, adapted, and still delivered.

That sort of flexibility is gold for a manager like Slot, who wants his forwards to interchange, press aggressively, and threaten from different angles. Compared to Gakpo, Barcola offers more variety and, on current evidence, more end product.

It is not just about numbers. It is about profile. Gakpo is a good player who can fill roles. Barcola looks like a player you build a flank around.

If Liverpool can engineer a scenario where Gakpo effectively makes way for Barcola – whether through a sale or a straight internal demotion – the sporting logic is hard to argue with. You trade a faltering starter for a younger, more explosive, more adaptable option.

The financials are another matter. PSG’s stance at €150m+ is a major obstacle and could yet kill the move. There are still too many moving parts to call it inevitable.

But strip it back to the footballing question and it is stark. If Liverpool truly want to refresh their attack after Salah, if they want a front line that can evolve rather than simply cope, then turning Gakpo into Barcola is exactly the sort of ruthless decision that defines where this team is heading next.