How Aston Villa signing Johan Manzambi may have just helped Liverpool in the transfer market
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Rousing the Kop or go back to LFC Live.
How high should Liverpool go to sign Bradley Barcola from PSG? But while the Reds were never in for the 20-year-old, his move to Villa may have inadvertently cleared the path for them to sign top target Bradley Barcola.Arsenal may be falling out of Bradley Barcola racePerhaps surprisingly given their free-spending of recent years, Villa’s £51m move for Manzambi will make him their club record signing.
Morgan Rogers has been valued at £130m, and with Arsenal heavily reported to be keen on signing him, Manzambi’s move makes it more likely that the England international will be on his way to the Emirates Stadium.READ MORE: Liverpool fans are right to be worried after seeing the squad now arriving for pre-season trainingIn the meantime, Arsenal have also been credited as being major rivals to Liverpool in the race to sign Barcola, but the narrative so far has been that Rogers is their preferred target.As a result, if Manzambi heading to Villa makes Rogers’ exit more likely, that in turn will mean Arsenal dropping interest in Barcola to focus on the former Man City academy starlet. Getting Barcola will still have its obstacles, but this could be the first signal that one major obstruction is about to be removed.How likely are Liverpool to sign Barcola then?
Arsenal’s interference in the Barcola deal is definitely a concern for Liverpool. Mikel Arteta’s side are the current champions and look like a far safer bet to challenge next year than the Reds do at present.Whether Liverpool fans admit to it or not, the pull of living in London is always big for players arriving from overseas as well, and that can be the deciding factor more often than supporters probably realise.Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesIf that is removed, it is obviously a major boost for Liverpool, who would then be seen as the only realistic destination for Barcola.Nevertheless, it has been consistently reported that Paris Saint-Germain do not want to lose the France international, and if they are to sell him, they would be looking recouping a fee of well over £100m.As they showed in their pursuit of Yan Diomande earlier this summer, Liverpool do have that money to spend this summer, but that does not mean they will be willing to spend it on Barcola.With no other high-level options really available to them, though, and a winger signing badly needed, it definitely feels possible that a deal could be done.Arsenal’s presence could feasibly be seen as the biggest reason Barcola would not join Liverpool this summer, but with Rogers’ move to the Gunners looking more and more likely, fans should be quietly confident that the PSG star will be coming to Anfield this summer.