Michael Owen advises Liverpool against £145m Barcola deal
Liverpool’s search for a successor to Mohamed Salah has led them to Bradley Barcola. Michael Owen thinks it should probably stop there.
The former Liverpool striker believes the numbers being discussed for the Paris Saint-Germain winger are so wild that the club would be better off stepping back rather than being dragged into a bidding war they cannot possibly win.
A £145m problem
Liverpool have turned to Barcola after missing out on Yan Diomande and Michael Olise, and reports in France and England suggest the player is open to the move. He is understood to have informed PSG that he does not intend to extend his contract beyond 2028, a stance that has encouraged Liverpool as they look to reshape their forward line in the post-Salah era.
Then came the price.
PSG are said to want around £145m for the 21-year-old. Liverpool, for their part, are thought to be willing to go to roughly £100m, hoping a compromise can be struck somewhere in the middle. For Owen, that upper figure from Paris is a line that should not be crossed.
“That sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? For someone that’s not proven in the Premier League,” he told the Liverpool Echo when asked about the £145m valuation.
He did not stop there.
“Obviously played at the highest level, but, yeah, at some point you’ve got to say no, haven’t you? If it gets to £145m, I mean, wow, that’s eye-watering.”
Liverpool know all about eye-watering fees, of course. They have paid them and received them. This, though, in Owen’s eyes, is a step too far for a player still learning his trade.
The one that got away – and the ones that aren’t there
Owen has been consistent about where he would have gone after Salah’s position. Months ago, he nailed his colours to a different mast.
“I mean, I went on record a couple of months ago saying if I was Liverpool, I’d go and try to get Jared Bowen from West Ham to replace Salah. I thought that made a lot of sense,” he said.
That ship has sailed. Bowen is locked in at West Ham and any realistic route to Anfield appears closed.
“But, obviously, that doesn’t look possible anymore, so they’re going to have to,” Owen admitted, before turning to the uncomfortable reality facing Liverpool in this window: everyone can see the gap in their squad.
“And the problem is everybody knows you’re desperate for a top-class player, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose. That might be just what you have to do.
“But it sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? £145 million, that’s the number that you’re saying.”
The tension is clear. Liverpool need a statement signing in a key position. Selling clubs know it. Prices rise accordingly.
A winger market running dry
For Owen, the issue is not just the fee. It is the market itself.
“You know, it used to be Salah, and Mane and Diaz,” he said, reflecting on the days when Liverpool’s wide options looked endless and devastating.
“There’s so many great wide players [at Liverpool] over the years. And it feels like there’s a dearth of them, of course, now at Liverpool.
“They probably need two. They certainly need one.”
That is a stark assessment. One elite winger no longer looks enough for a club competing on multiple fronts; Liverpool’s attack, once the most feared unit in Europe, suddenly feels light.
“So, yeah, I mean, they do probably need to invest heavily in that type of position. And he [Barcola] seems to be one that’s available, that’s got the quality. And it sounds like there’s no smoke without fire.
“It sounds like they’d be interested, but a lot will depend on the price, I guess.”
And there lies the crux of it. Barcola ticks boxes: young, talented, available, ambitious. PSG’s valuation, though, drags Liverpool into dangerous territory.
The club must now decide whether the urgency of replacing Salah justifies smashing through their own financial ceiling, or whether Owen is right and the smartest move is the one they do not make.
