Liverpool's Transfer Strategy: Iraola on Barcola and Midfield Challenges

Andoni Iraola walked into the press room at the AXA Training Centre knowing exactly what was coming. Bradley Barcola. Transfers. Midfield. Nottingham Forest. And somewhere beneath it all, the small matter of his first Premier League game at Anfield as Liverpool head coach.

The questions came quickly. The answers were sharp, controlled, and laced with a clear message: he knows what he wants, and he knows what still isn’t in place.

Barcola, wide areas and a restless market

Liverpool’s summer has revolved around one name and one problem: how to reshape the attack after Mohamed Salah. On Thursday morning, the club moved closer to their chosen solution.

An outline agreement is in place with Paris Saint-Germain for France international Bradley Barcola, in a deal that would see Liverpool commit a guaranteed fee just north of £100m, with add-ons potentially driving the total towards £120m. The structure is there; the fine print is not. Work remains before anything is signed off.

Iraola, as expected, stayed within the lines.

“As you know, we are trying to sign in that position,” he said. “We can’t talk about players who right now aren’t ours. But we are trying to improve and fill that position as we don’t have the numbers. I hope we have good news soon but we are still not there.”

The theme of “not there yet” extended beyond Barcola. He made it clear that wide players are the priority, but not the only concern.

“There are certain things we can but it’s true we need players in the wide areas,” he admitted. “I’m sure if we can improve other areas we will but I don’t know how the market is going to finish. I have to be patient as well as you. It’s very uncomfortable for me as you are dealing with uncertainties all the time. In four or five days we will know what we have and then we can make proper plans.”

He has, he says, been aligned with the club from the outset.

“I have in my head what I want, we’ve been talking since the beginning with the club, they know what we want. It’s about closing the deals.”

Until the window shuts, nothing is guaranteed. Not even for those already here.

On Cody Gakpo, whose form has surged since the World Cup and who impressed again at Newcastle, Iraola was effusive but realistic.

“After the performance he had in first game I say the same, he’s playing very well for us. He’s been very good since he’s been back from World Cup. The right attitude and I hope we can keep him at that level. He can be very influential on us. When the market is open and we bring in expensive players I cannot guarantee anything. Experience tells us that if there’s an opportunity the last day you can do something.”

This is a manager operating in a moving squad, with moving targets, and no promises.

Midfield noise and defensive balance

If the transfer market is one storm, the midfield is another. The reaction to Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at Newcastle, and the spaces they left when attacking, has been loud. Iraola expected nothing less.

“Not surprised,” he said of the scrutiny. “I expected when I came here that everything would be magnified. I’m starting to understand. But it’s just one game where we did a lot of very good things, even the players in midfield did, but there are definitely things we need to improve.”

The focus has been on defensive transitions and how open Liverpool looked when they lost the ball. Iraola did not duck it.

“You go to the goals always,” he said. “If you make exactly the same mistake then it’s normal and I understand we have to talk about the defensive transitions. I thought we improved during the game in that aspect, were much much better getting the numbers. I think the first goal is more to blame than the second in terms of how we positioned when we lost the ball. We will (soon) be talking about something else.”

He wants Liverpool to attack with conviction, but not chaos. That balance is now his obsession.

“We can’t attack with everyone,” he explained. “I don’t want to tell Ryan Gravenberch don’t carry the ball as he scored against Monaco it came from his pass to Alex. But there is a balance, recognising the situation how we can balance those numbers in those positions.

“Sometimes you have to accept the players go forward, it isn’t always one stays back and one goes forward. If the opposition are defending deep maybe both can go forward.”

He spoke about the “fluidity” and the “arrival of numbers” that he does not want to lose, even after being punished at St James’ Park.

“We don’t want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrival of numbers, but we were punished the other day. We have been intently working on it. It’s nothing new, we always want to control that. But there is a balance, we can’t go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to putting everyone back and it looks stale.

“It’s a matter of identifying the situation. The players who are very good, they smell whether they can take the risk of going or staying, it’s the quality of the player who takes those decisions.”

For all the criticism, Iraola actually liked much of what he saw at Newcastle.

“I thought we controlled the game quite well, I felt we had meaningful possession, were quite direct in attack. I was feeling good in the game, I felt we were closer to scoring than Newcastle in most part of the games. I felt good things in the first game.”

Dominik Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time equaliser saved a point. The performance, in his eyes, offered a platform.

Selection calls: Jacquet, Elliott, injuries and the bench

There were also questions about individuals. Young defender Jacquet, thrown into his first game, drew praise.

“He played very well considering it was his first game,” Iraola said. “It’s true he was tired, we had to sub him as you could feel he was tired in the last five minutes. He is very confident on the ball and good without the ball. Very young, we have to accept he will make mistakes.”

Federico Chiesa will not feature against Forest after a setback.

“Fede is not available, in the game against Como he felt something in his back,” the head coach revealed.

Harvey Elliott’s absence from the matchday squad at Newcastle also raised eyebrows. Iraola framed it as a question of balance, not a lack of faith.

“With Harvey and some of the players I can only choose 20. Harvey is trying and improving every week but I still prefer other options, about the balance on the bench. That’s why James McConnell was in the squad, but it’s now another new week and new chances for everyone. They have to keep that mentality.”

He also acknowledged that long-term injuries in certain positions have shaped Liverpool’s transfer priorities.

“We know from the beginning (what we wanted). We are probably down a player in some positions due to long-term injuries and those have been our main issues.”

The squad is in flux. The message to those inside it is simple: stay ready, because the picture can change fast.

Forest, Glasner and an Anfield that hasn’t forgotten

Saturday’s opponents are not arriving as polite guests. Nottingham Forest have turned Anfield into their playground in recent seasons, winning 1-0 in September 2024 and then 3-0 last November, results that accelerated Arne Slot’s slide.

Forest under Oliver Glasner are compact, drilled and ruthless on the break. Iraola knows exactly what is coming.

“He has been very successful,” he said of Glasner. “You can see straight away the shape. They don’t concede many chances, against Leeds it was a very tight game which was won with a free-kick in the last minute.

“We will have to earn every chance, win our duels, nothing is for free. We have to be good on the ball and patient because defensively they are very solid and good and have very good players. In transitions they are good threats on the counter.”

The scars from Slot’s tenure against Forest still sit in the stands, even if the dugout has changed. Iraola walks into that context on Saturday lunchtime.

And he does so on a day that means more to him than just three points.

“It’s going to be a special moment for me to have first PL game at Anfield,” he admitted. “I already felt it in pre-season. I will be thinking of the game but it’s also going to be emotional, it has to be like this as it’s a special place. I hope everything goes well and I enjoy the game.”

Emotion, though, will only carry him so far. The table, the mood, the early narrative of his Liverpool reign – all of it can twist on what happens in those 90 minutes.

For now, he waits. For signings to be closed. For the squad to settle. For the noise around the midfield to move on to its next target.

On September 2, he will finally know what he has to work with. On Saturday at 12.30pm, he finds out what this current version of Liverpool really looks like when Anfield demands a response.