Jamie Carragher Warns Liverpool: Replace Salah First, Consider Barcola Later
Jamie Carragher has warned Liverpool against losing sight of the obvious: replace Mohamed Salah first, worry about Bradley Barcola later.
With Salah gone after nine extraordinary years patrolling the right flank at Anfield, Liverpool are weighing up a huge move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Barcola. The Frenchman is admired, expensive and exciting. He is also, in Carragher’s eyes, the wrong profile for the Reds’ most urgent problem.
“He is a wonderful player, there is no doubt about that, and I would love to see Barcola at Liverpool,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “But for me he is a left winger.”
That distinction matters. Barcola thrives off the left. Salah built a legacy from the right. And while Liverpool are light on natural right-sided forwards, the left is already congested.
- Cody Gakpo can operate there.
- So can 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, the academy jewel who scored in the recent friendly win over Wrexham.
- New signing Victor Muñoz adds another option in the same channel.
Yet Liverpool are preparing, sources have told ESPN, to table a first offer for Barcola, with PSG valuing the 21-year-old at around €150 million.
Carragher’s concern is not about the talent. It’s about balance.
“The main thing that stands out as an urgent need for Liverpool right now is replacing Salah, who was playing as a right winger,” he said. “And I do not think Liverpool have any player in the squad who feels completely comfortable playing in the right wing position.”
Digging into the squad make-up, he underlined the imbalance.
“The team probably have at least four numbers in the squad before Barcola joins, if he joins, who can play on the left side quite comfortably.”
That is the crux of his argument. Liverpool are close to overstocked on one flank and exposed on the other. A marquee left winger at Salah money, without a clear right-sided successor, risks leaving a glaring hole where the Egyptian once decided games.
Carragher isn’t against Barcola. Far from it. He just wants Liverpool to get their priorities straight.
“If you asked me, do I want Barcola to arrive along with Liverpool signing a right winger too? I would be very happy because players would have to leave, and that is of course a natural thing.”
The former defender is clear: this summer, in his view, should have revolved around finding the next Salah.
“At the moment, I felt that this summer should be dedicated to replacing Salah, and Barcola does not make up for Mo’s departure.”
There is another layer to his caution: Ngumoha. The teenager has been one of the bright sparks of pre-season and is pushing for minutes on the left. A blockbuster signing in his zone could slow that rise.
“Rio is a young lad, and he is really excellent, and I think he will keep developing from what he showed last season,” Carragher said. “But this is an important point: you are buying a very young player for a large sum of money in Barcola, and he is currently better than Rio Ngumoha.”
That is the reality of elite recruitment. Barcola arrives to start. Ngumoha, for now, waits.
“But you expect in the end, over the next year or two, that Rio will want to play week in, week out with Liverpool, and it is up to him to prove that.”
There has been talk of shifting Ngumoha across to the right to open a pathway. Carragher can see the developmental upside, but he still views the youngster’s natural home as the left.
“So when you pay that kind of money for a young player in his position, it makes you a little uncertain. There is talk of Rio Ngumoha potentially playing on the right side and getting some minutes there, and as a young player it is a good thing to play on both sides, but I think his current position is the left wing.”
The equation, as Carragher frames it, is simple. If Liverpool are going to spend huge on Barcola, they must also address the right and be prepared to trim the squad.
“If they go out and bring in a player for the right wing position, and sign Barcola, then sell two of the wide players currently in the team, then I think that would be a wonderful thing.”
Liverpool’s next move in the market will show whether they share that view – or whether they are willing to gamble that Salah’s shadow on the right can be filled later.
