The 2026 summer transfer window was supposed to be a much simpler one for Liverpool, after their squad overhaul last year.
Richard Hughes was supposed to be putting the final touches on this team, finalising the first squad assembling specifically for Arne Slot. But this couldn’t be further from reality right now.
Liverpool parted ways with Slot late last month and appointed former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as his successor. Mo Salah also opted to part ways with the club one season into his two-year deal. There are doubts over the futures of Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones, while Ibrahima Konate left on a free transfer.
To say Hughes has a lot to do would be an understatement. There’s no clear priority position. Arguments could be made for each of the team’s needs being right at the top of this summer’s to-do list.
Liverpool need on focus on one particular era initially, though. And that should be the attack. Despite spending over £300million on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike last summer, Liverpool’s forward line is nowhere near the finished product. Liverpool’s recruitment team need to focus on the wide areas to truly get the best out of Isak and Wirtz.
According to reports, Liverpool’s top two targets are Bradley Barcola and Yan Diomande. The implication appears to be that it’ll be one or the other, rather than both. But their profiles are completely different and, in truth, the Reds need both to balance their attack. The question shouldn’t be which player Liverpool target. It should be which of the two players should be through the door first. Who is the non-negotiable?
Who should Liverpool sign first?
Bradley Barcola
A lot of the reports this summer claim Liverpool want a versatile attacker who can play anywhere across the forward line. Barcola certainly ticks that box. He’s been deployed on either flank while playing in Ligue 1 and has, also, spearheaded a front three.
Barcola is a genuine goal threat, albeit context needs to be taken into account when looking at his output. The Frenchman is playing for the most potent team in the league, he’s going to be scoring goals. Still, 25 league goals across 3,900 minutes (the last two seasons) as a rotation option isn’t a bad return at all.
His output is consistent – he’s averaged over three shots per 90 minutes for the past two campaigns for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
Liverpool are in dire need of goals. They struggled last season and have since lost Salah on a free transfer while top-scorer Ekitike is out until the new year at the earliest.
Iraola’s Bournemouth had multiple goal threats. Right now, Liverpool have one in Isak. The addition of Barcola would diversify the team’s threat and make them more dangerous on the whole. He’s a dual threat too, carving out chances and getting on the end of opportunities. He’s exactly what the Reds are missing right now.
Another contributing factor here is that he reportedly wants to leave PSG with the European champions, once again, looking to bolster their attacking ranks this summer. They need to make sacrifices and Barcola could be one of them having found himself relegated to the role of squad player.
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Yan Diomande
In many ways, Diomande is the antithesis of a Liverpool signing.
He’s had one season as a starter in one of Europe’s top five leagues, so the sample size is small. He’s also one of the most in-demand players in the world right now with a mooted fee believed to be in the region of £112m needed to pry him away from RB Leipzig.
Smart business isn’t investing in a player when their price-tag is sky high. Sometimes though, smart business is the most obvious. Spend big money on a player you desperately need. It can be as simple and straightforward as that.
Liverpool need an aggressive ball-carrier in the final third who makes things happen. Diomande is an aggressive ball-carrier in the final who makes things happen.
In Ivory Coast’s World Cup 2026 opener against Ecuador, Diomande was the star of the show. He carved out the most chances (five) and had the most touches in the box (12). He finished the game with an Expected Goal Contribution of 0.5. What was more impressive was he was up against Piero Hincapie, the Arsenal defender, for the majority of the game and he embarrassed the £45m signing.
Diomande also spent time on the left flank, highlighting his versatility. He was just as effective on that flank too.
And while he’s not as potent as Barcola yet, he offers a threat that Liverpool need. A threat that, on paper at least, gets the best out of Isak and Wirtz in particular. Unlocking your two most-expensive signings would be money well spent, no?
The verdict
The smart signing might be Barcola. He’s more of a guarantee and comes with experience as well as knowing where the back of the net is. However, the priority for Liverpool needs to be Diomande. He has his own gravitational pull and his ability to attack the outside as comfortably as he attacks inside is what makes him a genuine game-changer, especially in an Iraola system.
The Reds need to go all in on Diomande.
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