Liverpool's Right-Wing Dilemma: Iraola's Strategy with Barcola and Gakpo
Liverpool spent big to reshape their attack, but not where many expected.
Bradley Barcola arrived as the headline act on Merseyside before the last deadline, prised from Paris Saint-Germain in a £123 million deal. A Champions League winner with France, a statement signing, and yet one with a clear preference: he loves the left flank.
He’s not alone.
Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz all naturally gravitate to that same side. Four left-leaning forwards, one giant right-sided vacancy where Mohamed Salah once ruled and scored 257 goals. Andoni Iraola has been forced into a tactical jigsaw, nudging players into new lanes while the club resists a panic buy.
Minteh, Sarr and the Deals That Didn’t Happen
Liverpool knew the issue. They didn’t ignore it.
The club were linked with moves for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr, both far more at home on the right. Bids went in, the interest was real, but no deal was struck with either Premier League rival.
At that point, some clubs would have moved down the list, thrown money at the next name available and sold it as “depth”. Liverpool walked away.
Instead, the decision was made to hold fire. No option C, D or E. No late scramble. The plan: ride out the first half of the season with what they have, then reassess the market in January. Inside the club, that’s seen as the smartest play, not a sign of hesitation.
Murphy: “You Don’t Just Buy to Fill a Gap”
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy sees a clear logic in that stance.
Speaking to GOAL on behalf of Snabbare, he pointed to the failed moves for Minteh and Sarr as evidence that the recruitment team understand the imbalance in wide areas.
“I think there were a lot of rumours around trying to get Minteh and Sarr in, who are obviously more right-sided players, so they're obviously aware of it,” Murphy said.
“But I think, as a football club, there's something to be said for not buying somebody or getting somebody just to fill. If you've already got talented, intelligent footballers there, who can play that side - because I've seen Barcola play off the right, I think Gakpo's got the intelligence to do it, I think he'll score goals from there. He got a great assist from there, actually, I think in the Forest game from the right side.
“So they probably looked at what they already had when they couldn't get Sarr or Minteh and thought, ‘you know what, let's not rush and get someone in who doesn't quite fit the criteria’. So I understand it.
“You don't always get what you want in a window. You can't be held to ransom and pay over the odds for players just because you desperately need them, because they've spent a lot of money.
“So in an ideal world you'd want a more orthodox right-sided player, I agree with that, but ultimately do I think they've got enough for now in Munoz, who's shown glimpses on that side, and Gakpo can play that side and even Barcola? I think they've got enough.”
It’s a view that mirrors the club’s stance: quality over urgency, even if it leaves the squad looking slightly lopsided on paper.
Left-Footers on the Right, Results on the Board
On the pitch, the experiment has already begun.
Gakpo, Ngumoha, Munoz and Barcola have all taken turns operating from the right early in the 2026-27 campaign. They’ve been asked to stretch the touchline, cut inside, swap roles mid-game. It’s not Salah’s trademark blueprint, but it is starting to work.
One moment summed it up. Away at Bournemouth, Gakpo picked up the ball on the right, surged down the flank and drilled a low cross into the box. Alexander Isak met it, Liverpool won it. A classic right-wing action from a player many still picture starting on the left.
Munoz has shown flashes there too, while Barcola’s versatility offers Iraola another option when he wants to flip the front line and unsettle markers. Ngumoha, younger and still emerging, gives yet another left-footed threat learning to live on the opposite side.
The balance is unusual. The results are not.
Liverpool remain unbeaten across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup this season. For all the talk of a missing “new Salah”, the scoreboard keeps cutting through the noise.
January Questions, But No Panic
The story isn’t over. Far from it.
Interest in Minteh and Sarr could easily be revived in early 2027 or next summer. Both are understood to be open to an Anfield move, and Liverpool’s need for a more orthodox right winger won’t vanish overnight.
For now, though, the urgency has faded. The team are winning, the attack is functioning, and Iraola is squeezing flexibility out of a group that prefers the opposite flank.
Liverpool chose patience over impulse in the last window. The table, and their unbeaten record, are backing that call.
The real test comes later: when the market opens again, do they double down on this improvised right side, or finally go and buy the specialist to write the next chapter after Salah?
