Difficult winger market underlines new challenges facing Liverpool
After missing out on Yan Diomande, the Reds face some tricky recruitment decisions in their bid to replace Mohamed Salah.
In previous years, it is not hard to imagine Liverpool happily sitting out a winger market as difficult as this summer’s.
The Reds have proven on multiple occasions during Fenway Sports Group’s tenure that they are averse to signing anyone simply to fill a gap, preferring instead to wait for players that genuinely improve them and are available for a fee they consider acceptable.
Be it leaving themselves a centre-half short for 12 months before signing Ibrahima Konate, or turning to Ryan Gravenberch once Martin Zubimendi opted against a move to Anfield - there are plenty of examples of the club’s recruitment staff resisting the urge to work down a list of alternative targets.
And now, in the aftermath of missing out on Yan Diomande to Paris Saint-Germain, it could be argued that a similar approach would be wise given the paucity of viable options out wide.
For starters, the £116m+ pricetag reportedly being placed upon Bradley Barcola by PSG looks prohibitive, even for a player who has long been admired at the AXA Training Centre.
The reigning European champions are, of course, right to use the countless crazy valuations being put forward this summer as a benchmark when they still have Barcola contracted for another two years.
But it is also worth pointing out that they have looked to upgrade on the Frenchman with the signings of both Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and now Diomande in the last 18 months, something which would weaken their hand in a rational market.
In terms of other targets, Liverpool have watched Koln’s Said El Mala and Matias Fernandez-Pardo at Lille, but neither boasts anywhere near the pedigree of Barcola and both possess a similar preference for the left-hand side that is unhelpful when it comes to replacing Mohamed Salah.
