Liverpool's Transfer Dilemma: Barcola and the Shadow of Salah
Liverpool’s summer window closed with Bradley Barcola paraded as the new attacking jewel. Yet the shadow of Mohamed Salah still hangs heavy over Anfield – and Stephen Warnock believes the club may regret how they tried to replace him.
Fenway Sports Group sanctioned a colossal £123m move for Barcola on the penultimate day of the window, a fee just short of Liverpool’s transfer record. The 21-year-old arrives with the expectation of helping to fill the void left by Salah, a player who climbed to third on the club’s all-time scoring charts and became a modern icon on the right of their front three.
There’s a problem. Barcola’s best work comes from the left.
Liverpool already have options there. Plenty of them. What they do not have, despite months of planning and years of warning signs over Salah’s eventual departure, is a like-for-like right-sided forward ready to step straight into his role.
Warnock, speaking to TEAMtalk in association with Gambler Media, did not sugar-coat the risk.
“Ultimately, yes, it could cost them,” he said. “But one of the biggest issues is that, was there an adequate replacement that they thought could replicate what Salah was doing? I don’t think there is an adequate replacement because what Salah did was phenomenal.”
Liverpool tried to plug the gap late on. They moved for Ismaila Sarr as the clock ticked down, and had two bids turned away for Yankuba Minteh. Neither deal happened. The right side of the attack remains a question without a clear answer.
Warnock found the Sarr pursuit curious.
“Liverpool will have a valuation on players who they are willing to reach, and I found it quite strange that they decided to go in for Ismaila Sarr so late in the transfer window, with his age and his price,” he said. “However, it is understandable why they didn’t pursue that move too much, probably down to Crystal Palace’s stance on him but also his age.”
Minteh, at 22, is seven years younger than Sarr and viewed as having a higher ceiling. His name lingers in the conversation, particularly with January already looming into view.
“Yankuba Minteh is an interesting one because you wonder whether they’d have really pushed for that move had he been fully fit,” Warnock said.
Then came the real sting. Liverpool, a club famed for meticulous recruitment, knew this day was coming.
“The funny thing is that they have known for so long about Salah leaving, but they still haven’t found a replacement,” Warnock continued. “I always think you should be looking two or three seasons ahead; with injuries, dips in form, you’ve always got to be thinking about who is next in line.
“I just feel like Liverpool haven’t rectified that situation, and I find it absolutely incredible to be honest. I think they possibly will go back in for Minteh in January, but there might be someone else who pops up on the radar between now and then…”
The £62.5m what-if
Barcola’s arrival ended a near year-long chase for the former PSG forward, but he was never the only name on Liverpool’s attacking shortlist.
The club tracked Antoine Semenyo as far back as last January. When the moment came, they watched him join Manchester City instead in a £62.5m deal. They also spent the early part of this summer sounding out Yan Diomande.
For Warnock, missing out on Semenyo is the one that truly jars.
“I found it really strange at the time that they didn’t buy Semenyo,” he said. “For the price he was at, and yes, it was inflated, but he’s a proven Premier League player, an absolute powerhouse who scores goals, reliable, durable – he just ticks every single box.
“I didn’t think he’d do what he’s done at Man City so quickly; I thought it would have taken him some time to settle in, but I think Liverpool really missed out on one there.”
Semenyo’s fast start underlines the sense of opportunity lost. A versatile, robust forward with league experience, available at a time when Liverpool were actively reshaping their attack, ended up in sky blue instead of red.
Minteh remains a live option, but only just. His fitness and form between now and January will dictate whether Liverpool can realistically go back in.
“I can see them going back in for Minteh, but it really depends on his form between now and January once he gets himself back fit, but it’s going to be very difficult as that is such a short window,” Warnock warned.
Diomande doubts and Barcola pressure
Yan Diomande sits in a different category. Liverpool admired him, tracked him, weighed up the numbers. The market pushed his valuation towards £100m. Warnock is not convinced that figure ever made sense.
“Yan Diomande was one they also wanted, but having seen him at the World Cup, I’m not entirely sure he’d be the right fit for £100 million,” he said. “I think £50-60 million would have been a realistic value for him, but everyone works on potential now and thinks about what they might be capable of in 10 years’ time.”
Potential. Projections. Ceiling. Liverpool have leaned into that market too, and Barcola is the latest high-stakes example.
The Frenchman now walks into a dressing room where Salah’s numbers and influence set a near-impossible standard. He will be asked to transform a left-sided preference into a broader attacking solution, to justify a £123m outlay while the right flank still feels unresolved.
Jamie Carragher’s 14-word tweet on Barcola went viral and sparked a wave of amusement among Liverpool supporters, a brief moment of levity around a blockbuster signing.
The laughter is welcome. The reality is harsher. If Barcola doesn’t hit the ground running, and if that right side continues to look like an unsolved puzzle, Liverpool’s summer of big ideas and near-misses may define more than just one season.
