Bradley Barcola set to wear 'symbolic' unused shirt number at Liverpool that has special meaning

Bradley Barcola is expected to take a "symbolic" shirt number if his move to Liverpool materialises in the coming days.

It was widely reported on Thursday (August 27) that Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Barcola in a deal worth £120 million.

The 23-year-old forward, who scored 14 goals in all competitions for PSG last season, is set to become Liverpool's second-most expensive signing of all time behind Alexander Isak.

So, which squad number will he take? The number 11 is currently vacant following the departure of Mohamed Salah, while 13, 16, 17, 24, 26 and 27 are all also available for selection.

However, Barcola is expected to take his beloved number 29 shirt and become the first Liverpool player to wear those digits since Arthur Melo during the 2022-23 season.

Why 29, I hear you ask? Last year, Barcola conducted an interview with French publication Club Legacyz, where he touched on a number of subjects, including the meaning behind his celebration.

The former Lyon man was also asked why he chose the number 29 as his shirt number, which sparked an unexpected conversation around Alex Hunter, a fictional character from FIFA's 'The Journey' series.

"It’s actually a funny story," he said. "When I was younger, I used to play FIFA. In the story mode with Alex Hunter, this number became symbolic for me. I thought to myself: “The day I go pro, it’ll be number 29.”

"And here I am, I adopted it, and now I’ll never let it go."

Alex Hunter wore the number 29 shirt in the FIFA series. Image credit: EA Sports

As mentioned above, Barcola also opened up about his celebration. The Frenchman often points his fingers to the sky after scoring a goal.

"Every player has their own way of celebrating, and for me, it’s by pointing my fingers to the sky," he added. “I thank god for everything he’s given me. It’s my way of paying homage to him every time I score."

Andoni Iraola breaks silence on Bradley Barcola transfer

Ahead of Liverpool's clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, head coach Andoni Iraola kept his cards close to his chest when speaking about the potential addition of Barcola.

He said: “As you know, we are trying to sign in that position. We can't talk about players who right now aren't ours. But we are trying to improve and fill that position as we don't have the numbers.

"I hope we have good news soon but we are still not there.”

Iraola continued: “I don't know what's going to happen. Even myself, I have to be patient.Then we get to September 2, this is who we have and the options we have, then we can start thinking.

“For now we don't know. I have in my head what I want, we've been talking since the beginning with the club, they know what we want. It's about closing the deals.

“There are certain things we can but it's true we need players in the wide areas. I'm sure if we can improve other areas we will but I don't know how the market is going to finish."

He added: “I have to be patient as well as you. It's very uncomfortable for me as you are dealing with uncertainties all the time. In four or five days we will know what we have and then we can make proper plans.”