Liverpool Nears £120 Million Barcola Deal as Iraola Implements Power Football

Liverpool step back into Premier League duty this weekend with something more than just three points on their mind. Nottingham Forest visit Anfield for the Reds’ first home game of the season, but the noise around the club is already crackling with transfer intrigue.

Bradley Barcola is at the centre of it.

Barcola deal nears completion

Liverpool have agreed a deal worth £120 million with Paris Saint‑Germain for the winger, a fee that would make him the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history. Only Alexander Isak’s £125m move tops that figure.

The paperwork is not fully done yet, but the direction of travel is clear. Barcola remains a PSG player for now, yet the Champions League winner has already made up his mind over his future, with Liverpool the chosen destination.

PSG’s recent squad decisions underline that reality. Barcola has not played a single minute this season. He was only a substitute in the UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa and has been left out completely for Ligue 1 fixtures against Lens and Rennes. On Friday night, as his move to Merseyside edged closer, he was again omitted from the matchday squad for the trip to Lille.

This is not a fringe player being quietly moved on. Barcola hit 13 goals and 7 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions last term, a direct and dangerous presence in a side that claimed back‑to‑back Champions League titles. He has still had to fight for minutes, squeezed between Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue in a stacked PSG attack, but his numbers and impact have kept him firmly in the elite bracket.

If Liverpool get this over the line, Andoni Iraola will have a new, high‑end attacking weapon just as he searches for his first win in charge.

Iraola’s Liverpool still finding their feet

Iraola’s Premier League debut with Liverpool left more questions than answers. A 2-2 draw at Newcastle United last Sunday exposed teething problems at both ends of the pitch. The performance was ragged, the control intermittent. The Spanish coach demanded intensity; he got chaos.

Forest at Anfield offers a different kind of test: breaking down a deep, organised side while the Kop expects a response. The looming arrival of Barcola adds a jolt of excitement, but also a spotlight. A £120m winger changes the conversation around any attack.

For now, Iraola must work with what he has. And one of his key creative figures has started to reveal how the new era is being built.

Wirtz handed the keys as No. 10

Florian Wirtz spent last season under Arne Slot shuttling between roles, sometimes as an attacking midfielder, sometimes off the left. He influenced games, but never quite felt anchored to one spot.

That has changed quickly under Iraola.

During pre-season, the new manager made it clear he sees the German as his No. 10, the creative hub in the middle of the pitch. Speaking to Sky Germany, Wirtz outlined just how sharply defined his responsibilities have become and what Iraola expects from this Liverpool side.

“He just wants to play power football going forward. Lots of pressing. The tasks you have are actually relatively clear,” Wirtz explained.

This is not a possession-for-possession’s-sake project. Iraola wants aggression, verticality, and coordinated pressure high up the pitch. Wirtz sits at the heart of that, tasked with linking the press to the final pass.

“Of course, we now have to work on making it work as a team. So not only that everyone does their job well, but that it also harmonizes together,” he added, stressing the need for cohesion rather than just isolated effort. “But he definitely makes a very good impression on me.

“I think that he reaches a lot of players with it and that we as a team also understand what he wants from us. I think it's definitely a good start, that the players believe in it, and I hope that it will be successful.”

The message is clear: the blueprint is bold, the instructions simple, the buy‑in growing.

Now comes the real test. With Forest in town, Iraola chasing a first league win, Wirtz installed as the central creator and Barcola on the brink of a record-breaking move, Anfield is about to find out how quickly “power football” can catch fire.