How Bradley Barcola actually compares against Cody Gakpo since he joined Liverpool

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Liverpool’s plans for the rest of the transfer market appear to hinge heavily on two left wingers: Bradley Barcola and Cody Gakpo.Barcola is the top target, and there is an expectation that a mammoth bid of more than £100m is likely to be lodged by the Reds in the coming days.If he arrives, the Frenchman will do so at great expense and at the cost of Gakpo’s place in the team. Though the Dutchman will not automatically be sold if Barcola joins, Liverpool appear to be looking for a second new winger, whose signing would allow Gakpo to leave for Tottenham.

Are you happy with FSG’s decision to sell 30% of Liverpool? Gakpo did not have a good season last time out, and there is a widespread view that he can be easily improved upon.Nevertheless, when stacking up Barcola’s goal-scoring and creating for PSG and Lyon since Gakpo’s arrival at Liverpool in January 2023, fans may be surprised to learn that the 23-year-old may not be the upgrade they are desperate for.Gakpo has outscored BarcolaThere is an obvious caveat here that Gakpo is more than three years older than Barcola, and so the comparison is not direct, but it is still clear that the Liverpool man has an advantage.Gakpo has also played more, registering 204 appearances to Barcola’s 186 since the beginning of the 2022/23 season.Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Liverpool fans tell Daniel Sturridge their three dream signings if the Reds are given an unlimited budgetThe Netherlands international was still at PSV Eindhoven then, where he shone during the first half of the season, bagging 13 goals and registering 17 assists.However, even if you take those goals out of the equation, Gakpo is still a superior goal-scorer than Barcola.

The 27-year-old has hit 50 for Liverpool in 180 appearances.Barcola is not far away from that to be fair, with 46 goals from his last 186 club appearances, since the start of the 22/23 campaign.By way of assists, taking out Gakpo’s 17 for PSV does change things a little, with Barcola setting up 35 goals since 22/23, and Gakpo only 20 since he joined Liverpool. Season Gakpo GoalsBarcola GoalsGakpo AssistsBarcola Assists2022/2320*719*92023/24165692024/2518216182025/2691368* 13 goals, 17 assists for PSV EindhovenThe PSG man claimed eight assists last season, which was his lowest since becoming a full first-team member at Lyon in 22/23, but is still more than Gakpo’s best at Liverpool, which stands at six, his tally for each of his three full seasons at Anfield.Interestingly, though Gakpo out-performed Barcola during 22/23 and 23/24, the France international has claimed more goals and more assists in each of the last two campaigns than his Dutch counterpart.For more than £100m, though, these figures are perhaps not what Reds fans would expect to see.On the pure cold data at least, Barcola is not so different to Gakpo.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox