Andoni Iraola dealt brutal blow as Liverpool's Bradley Barcola pursuit hits major stumbling block

Liverpool’s pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola has hit a major stumbling block after club-to-club negotiations.

Barcola has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool in recent weeks, with it widely reported that the France international is open to a switch to the Premier League.

After much speculation, both clubs engaged in preliminary talks over brokering a deal this week, but according to Sky Sports News, a deal is no closer, with Liverpool and PSG struggling to reach an agreement on the player’s valuation

PSG believe the player to be worth around £145million, while Liverpool are not willing to meet the valuation.

As a result, as things stand, a deal is far from being agreed, meaning the Reds may be forced to turn to alternative targets ahead of the September 1 deadline if nothing changes.

Barcola has two years remaining on his current contract and has made clear he will not sign an extension at PSG over a lack of game time, with Andoni Iraola seeing the player as the final piece of Liverpool’s jigsaw in attack.

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Meanwhile, Barcola’s PSG teammate, 18-year-old right winger Ibrahim Mbaye, has been the subject of exploratory talks, with the Senegalese international interested in moving to Anfield. Both deals are thought to be independent.

Sky Sports News reports that Liverpool would like to have five wingers to choose from at the end of the transfer window, with the Reds already recruiting Victor Munoz from Osasuna earlier this summer.

Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo, who is being targeted by Spurs, and Rio Ngumoha make up Iraola’s options on the flanks.

Liverpool are also in the market for a centre-back, with Joe Gomez, Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni all out injured, leaving Virgil van Dijk as the only recognised centre-back currently match-fit.

Liverpool get their Premier League campaign underway with a trip to Newcastle United on August 23.

Before then, they will participate in friendlies against AS Monaco and Como as Iraola looks to implement his intense style on the squad.

Andoni Iraola admits need for new winger

Speaking in late July, Iraola made clear that Liverpool need to sign a winger.

When asked if he’d told the recruitment team how many players he needed, the Spaniard replied: “No, I think it’s difficult to say a number when the market is open, and you have to be always open to new options to improve the squad. There are obvious situations that we know where we need to sign players. A winger, for example – we definitely need to sign a winger.

"But there are other situations that we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what’s the cost, how we also see the players we have. We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust but is still not the ideal situation. So, it will depend on a lot of thing.”