Why Barcola Might Not Fix Liverpool's Biggest Problem

Liverpool appear to be in chaos mode. Mohamed Salah leaving this summer seems to have left a massive gap on their right-hand side

But what is it they actually want on that right wing? Is Mahler Saar's output and speed

Yankouba Minta's width and directness, or a superstar to replace a superstar

Well, I'm Jacob Hallsfall, 4-4-2's resident tactician, and this is why Liverpool's summer has been so chaotic

to understand why Liverpool have chased the players that they have we first got to look at

how Irayola has been looking to use that right winger against Newcastle we saw the two wingers

have wildly different roles here you can see the right winger is wide by the touchline rather than

coming into this inside space with the ball on the left hand side and in fact we saw the left

winger actually the one who would drift narrow with the ball in that wide left space. The goal

was to ideally leave the striker 2v1 between the two Newcastle centre-backs whilst occupying the

left back with the right winger, meaning crosses to the back post were a 1v1 battle or midfielders

could arrive in a space on the outskirts of the box unmarked. However, Liverpool had a box entry

problem down their right-hand side. When Rio Ingramoa received on that right-hand side, he was

unfamiliar with the dribbling angles and he doesn't have that proper burst of acceleration

to hit the byline, which is what that right winger kind of needs to do for Ayriola. In fact

Engamore actually registered the lowest touches of any Liverpool starter with just 21 in that game

And I don't think that necessarily falls on Engamore. He's a top talent, he's a top player

but he's a top player at left wing, not off the right. Now when Munoz came on, he was a better fit

Yeah, he's still one of the widest players on the pitch, but he has that burst of acceleration

to burst past his marker, gets the ball, and then his first intention is to go direct

straight forward toward the goal. And obviously, in this instance, he ended up winning a penalty

But Munoz is still young, and he's come off the back of his first ever full season in professional football

One in which he scored seven goals in 36 appearances across all competitions

So, that output isn't enough to replace what Mohamed Salah brought to Liverpool for so many years

Which leads us to the Reds recruitment Liverpool have gone from Yandiamande to Yankouba Minter to Ismail Assar who are all wildly different profiles

So I want to really look into all three of them and try and identify what Liverpool seem to actually be looking for

The player traits diagram of all three wingers are entirely different. Assar is a high-volume shooter and goal scorer

Minter is a hard worker who creates chances through take-ons. and Yandiamande is a chance creation machine who fashions his own shooting opportunities

Ismail Assar wants to get into these central areas between the opposition's full-back and centre-back

whilst his wing partner comes high to occupy the opposition defence, allowing Assar to remain on the centre-back's blindside and act as almost a poacher inside the box

But when it comes to him, it seems that Liverpool have potentially left it too late and Palace aren't going to be open to letting him go

Yankouba Minca is then a little bit different. Instead, he stays wide and uses body feints to engage his defender

then beats him and delivers early balls into the box. Again, this one feels like Liverpool have come in too late yet again

and therefore, it's unlikely that Brighton let him leave. Then, Yandiy Amande, who drips relatively freely between the wings and the central space

but will try, receive, and carry inward toward goal, skipping past multiple players to find his own angle for a shot

In this case, Liverpool simply lost out because Real Madrid came in, and that's completely valid

There's no shame in losing out on a player to Real Madrid. However, there is some shame in the fact that all three of them targets that we've mentioned are entirely different profiles

So finding the logic behind who they are trying to find is actually quite hard

Yankuba Minta would be perfect as this sort of wide withholder, as he is for Brighton here

Because of Irayola's football being so vertical, Minta would get himself into these 1v1s consistently

And he has the ability to skin his man and get into big spaces inside the opposition's box

However, the fact it's Brighton and we're in the stage window we are, means that Jankou Berminta would cost a ridiculous amount of money

or maybe Brighton wouldn't even sell. But I do think it would be worth it for Liverpool

Only Ily Manendiai and Jeremy Doku completed more take-ons than the Gambian winger last season

whilst only Spurs and City attempted more take-ons than Irayola's Bournemouth. So off that right wing holding the width and combining with Frimpong or one of those midfielders in a beautiful trifecta would be lovely for Liverpool Now the other option that is realistic right now because we know Yandy Amande went to Madrid yada yada yada but Ismailia Sarr has come out today as the time of recording

as the favourite for that move. And to me, it screams panic buy

As we've established, he's someone who finds himself on the inside, operating as a second striker, really

In fact, last season, for every 17 touches Sarr took, he had one shot on goal

And that's his bread and butter. Minimal touches, maximum shots. Now, Sar and Salah have their own similarities, I think

Both of them find themselves in a sort of centre-forward poacher position here, where they can latch on to rebounds and score

But the problem is, and I'm not comparing them quality-wise, but we're saying in sort of those box instincts

the minimal touches, maximum shot sort of way of playing, Salah and Sar do have them similarities

But the problem is, Liverpool don't need a Mo Salah-type player anymore

And Donio Aeola's football is built for something different. Instead, we need someone who's going to be explosive

can be really really secure with the ball but also direct 1v1 threat and obviously the goals the

output is also of importance as well for me saw in that right wing position just doesn't make sense

because then they'd have him and Gakpo who are both winger so for me don't move the needle in

possession instead they're both basically second strikers want to get in the final third

so it just wouldn't make sense which gives us the question of well what should they do

With the window closing shortly, I do expect Liverpool to wrap up a deal for someone in the coming days

Now, someone like Bradley Barkola has been consistently mentioned throughout this full window

And in fairness, I do actually think someone like Barkola plus Ismaili Asar would work really, really well

But I do get the feeling it's one or the other. Throughout Barkola's career, he's been a left winger, playing over 60 of his 128 games at left wing

But he has also featured at right wing 25 times. And with his technical level being so high and his ability to either smash home on his left foot or bend one into the corner on his right foot, it does mean he can be an asset off of either wing

And I think as a pure footballer, he would be one of the best attackers in the league

Now, this position would be slightly new to him, where he finds himself as the withholder on the right

But he can also identify the space that opens up the direct passing angles that Iriola loves to be played Whilst also as we established with Barcola by that touchline we seen it so many times he can beat almost anyone in the dribble

He's so secure technically, he's still got that burst of acceleration that I think he would really work out there for Irayola

However, Barcola is a left winger and for what would be over 120 million euros

why would you play him out of position? Surely you want him as that left winger in his best position for that sort of fee

it just wouldn't make sense to throw him out on the right would it just when you need a goal

the problem Liverpool have is that in the right wing market right now trying to find a relatively

young pacey goal scoring direct good in the dribble winger is either impossible to find

all them players are costing you ridiculous fees clubs like Man City found market opportunities in

Ryan Shirky Arsenal invested in one of their own through Bakayo Saka but Liverpool weren't

able to do that because I feel like they were almost blindsided or maybe caught off guard

by what happened to their long-standing right winger. Before last season Mohamed Salah was

still on top of the world. His decline combined with the off-the-pitch issues with Arnie Slott

meant they probably were losing someone who they thought they would have for another 18 months yet

so their preparation for his departure was probably scheduled to start this summer but because they

thought he was staying and he's left they're now in no man's land so now this team and it's serious

quality that it does have in certain positions like jeremy jackie and van if you want to

talk about dominic sobers like i still think florian verts potentially has something to offer

long term but it doesn't have a feasible right wing it doesn't have a right winger that can get

them competing at the top table again and that makes them vulnerable palace and brighton know

that they will pull a scrambling a little bit they know that local are in chaos mode so they're

going to ask for more for Yankouba Minta or Ismail Assar and at least Liverpool in a tough position

so who do you think they are going to get before the end of window will it be Yankouba Minta through

the door Ismail Assar will it be Bradley Barcola at right wing let me know because whoever it is

will more than likely be here on the 442 channel to yze them and let you know how they fit into

Andoni Irayola's plans so if you have enjoyed today's video leave a like and subscribe we really

do appreciate it as I say we'll be back again next week with more muy buen ysis

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