How Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye will complete Liverpool’s new attacking plan

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Rousing the Kop or go back to LFC Live.

Going back all the way to last summer, it has been fairly unclear how Liverpool intended to move on from Mohamed Salah and reshape their attack.The joint signings of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike looked good in isolation, but when put together, it made it difficult to see what the vision was.Salah departing has made that even more murky, while the £100m+ pursuit of another left winger in Bradley Barcola has again left more questions than answers as well. Pick Liverpool’s new front three with Bradley Barcola in it 👇 Who joins the Frenchman in Andoni Iraola's best attack?

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier/FIFA However, after news emerged on Tuesday that Liverpool are looking to bring Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain along with Barcola, it is becoming more clear what the Reds are looking to do, with six players – two for each of the forward positions – making up a fearsome new Reds attack for now and the future.Liverpool want six options across the front lineThough there have been some suggestions that he could change positions and play on the right for Liverpool, there is no getting away from the fact that Barcola is about as much of left winger as you are ever going to get.That is where he will surely play for Liverpool, with strong rumours that Cody Gakpo is a candidate to leave this summer making that even more likely.If Gakpo goes and Barcola arrives, that will leave the Frenchman and Rio Ngumoha as Andoni Iraola’s options for the left of his attack. Liverpool did not sign Barcola last year so as not to block Ngumoha’s pathway, but the two together do look like a good mix of options for the Reds.READ MORE: Victor Munoz confirms if he’s fit to play for Liverpool and make debut vs Monaco at AnfieldThrough the middle Liverpool obviously have Isak and Ekitike, with the Swede’s patchy fitness record perhaps the main reasoning for also spending big on his French counterpart.Ironically, it is Ekitike who is now set for a long spell on the sidelines, and while it will be fascinating to see how Liverpool approach replacing him in the meantime, it is clear that Isak and Ekitike are the long-term plan for a potentially rotational – but at times complementary – front two.On the left is where the biggest question marks have been, and the signing of Victor Munoz – normally a left winger – added to the mystery.However, Munoz is multi-faceted.

It feels possible that the Spaniard will step in for Ekitike while he is injured and play centrally, but on paper we think he is down for a right-sided berth which Liverpool seem to want him to share with Mbaye.Again, though he can play either side, Mbaye is naturally a right winger, and that’s where he is most likely to rotate with Munoz if he arrives this summer.Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesLiverpool planning for a group who can grow togetherPerhaps the most striking thing about the group of forwards Liverpool are assembling is just how young they are.Mbaye and Ngumoha are 18 and 17 respectively, while Munoz and Barcola are both 23. Ekitike is 24, and though he is the oldest at 26, Isak still has a five-year contract and hopefully plenty of years at the top ahead of him.As a result, it looks like Liverpool are planning to sort their attack for now and for years into the future over the coming weeks.Between the six of them, they could develop into some of the best attackers in the world individually, and as good as anything out there as a group.Barcola and Isak look like the only two really nailed on starters for now, but between Mbaye, Munoz and Ngumoha, Liverpool have four players who could essentially play anywhere across the front line, while Ekitike is one of the best centre-forwards already, and will likely take on full-time duties if and when Isak eventually moves on.Obviously, plenty still has to happen for this to come about – not least the arrivals of Barcola and Mbaye and the departures of Gakpo and Federico Chiesa – but given the direction of travel, this is about as close to a plan as it looks like Liverpool have got.