Liverpool's Attack Needs a Major Reset

Liverpool’s attack is stuck in a strange halfway house.

For months, the expectation around Anfield was clear: a major reset was coming. A new era, a new structure, a squad reshaped for the long haul. Instead, with roughly a month left of the 2026-27 summer window, Liverpool feel caught between plans – big decisions still on the table, big names still linked with moves away, and one glaring problem still unsolved.

They need a new right side of their attack. And they don’t have one.

Salah gone, questions everywhere

Mohamed Salah is now a Trabzonspor player. Hugo Ekitike is out until at least January. That is not just experience and goals removed from the squad; it’s the spine of Liverpool’s attacking threat over the last decade stripped out in the space of one summer and one injury update.

Targets have emerged, but the pattern has been obvious: most of the names strongly linked are left-wingers, not natural right-wingers. Modern football tolerates that. Coaches love versatility, inverted wingers, fluid front threes. But when you are trying to replace Salah – a specialist, a phenomenon in that role – you cannot escape the need for someone who can live on that right touchline and still decide games.

Against that backdrop, the idea that Cody Gakpo could slip down the pecking order if Bradley Barcola arrives is less a shock and more a logical consequence of Liverpool’s own recruitment drift.

“Bradley Barcola would be signed to play left wing for Liverpool, not the Salah replacement,” Anfield Sector reported via X, adding that he would come in ahead of Gakpo should Liverpool strike a deal with PSG. Talks are described as slow, with the French club’s hierarchy currently standing firm on a valuation north of €150m.

That price tells its own story. PSG see Barcola as a cornerstone, not a makeweight. Liverpool, though, see something just as valuable: an upgrade on what they already have.

Gakpo’s slide and Barcola’s rise

Gakpo’s Liverpool career has already had two very different acts.

In 2024-25, he was one of the club’s most effective attackers. Operating primarily from the left, he pushed Luis Díaz hard for a starting spot and produced one of his strongest seasons in a red shirt. He looked sharp, decisive, and finally settled.

Then came 2025-26.

With Díaz out of the picture early, Gakpo started the campaign as Liverpool’s only senior left-winger. On paper, it was the perfect platform. In reality, his form nosedived. The confidence that had defined his previous season drained away. His decision-making slowed. He drifted through games instead of grabbing them.

The reaction from the stands was ruthless. Supporters began calling for Rio Ngumoha to start ahead of him, and eventually Arne Slot relented, giving the youngster a run in the side. Once that happened, Gakpo’s status as an automatic starter was gone.

From there, the rumour mill did the rest. A stream of left-wingers were linked, each one a subtle vote of no confidence in Gakpo’s long-term role. Among them, one name consistently stood out: Bradley Barcola.

The numbers explain why. Barcola contributed to 20 goals across all competitions last season and did it while moving across the front line. Left, right, through the middle – he offered flexibility without losing end product. That is exactly the kind of profile top clubs pay for, and exactly the kind of versatility Liverpool have been trying to build their forward line around.

Crucially, that adaptability is where he pulls clear of Gakpo. The Dutchman can operate centrally or off the left, but Barcola has shown he can genuinely function across all three positions. In a squad that has just lost Salah and is waiting on Ekitike, that matters.

A ruthless call Liverpool may have to make

There are still plenty of moving pieces. PSG’s valuation sits at a level that would test any club’s resolve. Negotiations are described as slow, and there is no sign yet that the French champions are ready to soften their stance.

But strip away the noise and the choice for Liverpool becomes brutally simple.

If they can effectively swap Gakpo for Barcola – in status, if not literally in a direct trade – they would be exchanging a faltering asset for a 21-year-old who already delivers and still has room to grow. They would be adding a player capable of starting on the left from day one, pushing Ngumoha, and offering genuine cover and competition across the front three.

Gakpo, in that scenario, becomes the back-up. Barcola becomes the reference point on the left. Liverpool get younger, sharper, and more in tune with the demands of a front line that has to be rebuilt on the fly.

The question is not whether Barcola would be an upgrade. On recent evidence, he is. The question is whether Liverpool are ready to be as ruthless with this squad as the situation now demands.