From the outside, it always seemed strange that, despite their clear need for an elite attacker and potential for a vacancy on the left-hand side, Arsenal never moved for Bradley Barcola this summer.
But the reality is that the Gunners knew they would be wasting their time even trying, because it is understood that the Frenchman only ever wanted Liverpool and had made that quite clear to all his other suitors.
That loyalty owed much to the duration of the Reds’ pursuit of the player, which began following his breakthrough into the Lyon first team in 2021.
A move to Paris Saint-Germain followed two years later, along with three seasons of football that featured 153 appearances, 39 goals, and 13 honours.
Yet Liverpool’s refusal to break off contact despite missing out first time around proved a wise investment, as they hope will be the case for the £106m initial fee and £17m in add-ons they have now agreed with PSG.
That Barcola arrives still aged only 23 and with vast experience of winning at the highest level arguably makes signing him now even sweeter.
And the club certainly believe they have acquired a forward with the pace and quality to reinvigorate an attack that fell short of the expected standard last season.
