Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has confirmed that club-record signing Bradley Barcola will be available for the team's upcoming match against Ipswich on Friday night. The winger, acquired in a deal reportedly worth £123 million, is set to make his Premier League debut.
Iraola expressed satisfaction with the club's summer transfer business, which also saw the arrivals of Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo. Jeremy Jacquet also joined the squad after an agreement was reached in January. Despite the additions, Iraola noted that the team might appear "light at full back and midfield."
"I’m very happy with all the signings we’ve made," Iraola stated. "Three or four signings with Jeremy, I’m very happy with all the signings. I know the next question: “Do you want more signings in other positions?”. At the end, the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position. There were other options we decided not to take, for different reasons."
He elaborated that decisions not to pursue further signings were based on sporting merit, if potential acquisitions did not offer improvement over the existing squad, or economic considerations where market conditions did not make sense. "But I’m happy now I know what we have, I have a lot of quality in the team and now it is the moment for us, for the players, for me to develop what we have."
Regarding Barcola, Iraola highlighted the player's desire to join Liverpool as a key factor. "We are very happy with Bradley. It was our priority to sign a very, very good player in that position. He has also come with the right mentality. I liked that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He just wanted to come here and I think that is a good first sign. Being the player that he is and the things that he has won recently, he has come with the willingness to help us. I am very happy with him and he trained well with us."
If training proceeds without issue on Thursday, Barcola is expected to feature in the matchday squad. Elsewhere, Joe Gomez is nearing a return from a six-week muscular injury. Defender Giovanni Leoni, sidelined since September with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, is anticipated to return to training by the end of the month.