Barcola available from Friday for Liverpool debut at Ipswich

Bradley Barcola could make his Liverpool debut as early as Friday night, when the Reds travel to Ipswich for their third Premier League match. His manager Andoni Iraola confirmed this in a press conference on Thursday.

When asked about his new signing’s availability, the Spanish manager was enthusiastic. « We’re very happy with Bradley. We can say he was our priority in the transfer market. A very, very good player in that position. And I think he arrived with a very good mentality. I really appreciated that he absolutely wanted to join Liverpool, » Iraola said before clarifying the conditions of his participation: « He’s trained very well with us. If everything also goes well in today’s session, he will obviously be available for tomorrow, yes. »

The French international arrives from Paris Saint-Germain, where he spent three seasons, in a transfer valued at over €140 million. A considerable sum that reflects the expectations placed on him on Merseyside.

His arrival comes at a timely moment for a Reds side struggling at the start of the season. Liverpool has yet to win a match after two games, drawing twice consecutively — 2-2 at Newcastle and then 2-2 at Anfield against Nottingham Forest. The club sits in thirteenth place, already four points behind leaders Manchester City, Arsenal, Hull City and Chelsea.

Against Ipswich, Liverpool will finally have the chance to launch their season, with Barcola potentially starting to bring the expected dynamism to his flank.