Bradley Barcola's Flexible Role at Liverpool

Bradley Barcola has barely unpacked his bags and already he is being asked to do a bit of everything.

Having started on the right in the midweek European win, the French winger was flipped to the left for his full Premier League debut at Anfield. Different touchline, same demand: be dangerous, be decisive.

For Andoni Iraola, that flexibility is not a luxury. It is the plan.

Barcola the movable piece

The former PSG winger arrived with a reputation as a livewire attacker, and Iraola has no intention of pinning him to one side of the pitch. Asked about the switch, the manager brushed aside the idea that any of his wide players are locked into a single role.

"I think I said it a lot of times, we have four wingers and probably before the season everyone would say we had more left wingers than right wingers because they've played more there," he said. "All the wingers will play on the right and play on the left, depending on the match-ups, depending where we think they are going to be more dangerous, depending sometimes on the defensive demands, depending what we feel, what we analyse."

That was not theory. It was selection policy in real time.

Barcola, who worked the right flank against Atletico Madrid, was asked to mirror that threat from the opposite wing in the league. Iraola is adamant that this rotation will define the season.

"I think Bradley, I think everyone – the four of them – have already played both sides and it is going to be all the season like this."

The game finished goalless, but the coach still walked away encouraged by what he saw from his young forward. Barcola showed glimpses of the sharpness that persuaded the club to bring him in, drifting in from the left, looking to attack the far post and stretch a defence that refused to open up.

Building Barcola’s engine

The raw talent is obvious. The fitness is still catching up.

Barcola’s pre-season was heavily disrupted, and Iraola is conscious that the Premier League will punish anyone short of full physical sharpness. That is why, for now, the minutes matter almost as much as the moments.

"I think with Bradley we are also building his physical condition because he hasn't had any minutes in pre-season," Iraola explained. "And I think there is a good part where today he played, I think, a little bit more even than three days ago against Atletico Madrid."

The big chance came at the back post. Barcola arrived exactly where a winger should, only to see his effort blocked.

"He had a good chance [at the] second post; they blocked the shot but he arrived well. Probably we know he has more but now it's about giving him the minutes, keep building his confidence and he's a player that is going to give us more."

No goals yet, but there is a clear roadmap: minutes, conditioning, confidence. The expectation is that the end product will follow.

Endo stuck behind the traffic

While Barcola’s role is expanding, Wataru Endo’s has shrunk.

The Japan international has struggled for starts in recent weeks, squeezed by the depth and quality in a stacked midfield. Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are all vying for the same central spaces, and right now they are getting the nod.

Iraola did not hide the reality of that competition, but he did push back against any suggestion that Endo has slipped out of his plans.

"I think Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season. I think he's still not at his best but he's training very well," he said. "The problem is, in front of him in his position I have a lot of players. He's competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to try Ryan, Alexis, Dom, players that I am selecting right now."

There was, though, a clear endorsement.

"But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments."

With the calendar about to tighten and games piling up, those moments are likely to come sooner rather than later. Iraola knows he will need fresh legs and experienced heads in equal measure.

Anfield noise not the issue

A home draw rarely feels like a result to savour at a club of Liverpool’s size and expectation, and the frustration around Anfield has been audible at times this season. Iraola, however, refused to point a finger at the stands.

For him, the answers lie on the grass.

"I haven't felt it, I didn't feel it three days ago against Atletico Madrid," he insisted when asked about the atmosphere. "I prefer to play at home, definitely. I prefer to be at home. We cannot find the reasons outside, we have to find the reasons inside the pitch, in us."

That is the challenge now: to turn control into cutting edge, possession into points.

"We know that if we push, the people will be with us. This is 100 per cent," Iraola concluded.

If Barcola grows into the role Iraola has mapped out for him, and if Endo finds his moment in a crowded midfield, Anfield will not need any invitation to respond.