Carragher Warns Liverpool: Replace Salah First
Jamie Carragher has warned Liverpool against losing sight of their most pressing problem: replacing Mohamed Salah.
With the club preparing a first offer for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola – a player valued at around €150 million – the former Liverpool defender believes the recruitment strategy risks skewing badly towards a position that is already crowded.
Carragher’s clear message: replace Salah first
Carragher, speaking to Sky Sports, made no attempt to hide his admiration for Barcola.
“He is a wonderful player, there is no doubt about that, and I would love to see Barcola at Liverpool,” he said.
Then came the pivot.
“But for me he is a left winger.”
That detail matters. Salah spent nine years terrorising defences from the right at Anfield. Barcola, a France international, operates naturally from the opposite flank. And in Carragher’s eyes, Liverpool already have that side of the pitch well stocked.
Cody Gakpo can play there. So can 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who scored in the recent friendly win over Wrexham. New signing Victor Muñoz is another option on that side.
Digging into the squad profile, Carragher pointed out that Liverpool “probably have at least four” players who can operate comfortably off the left even before Barcola walks through the door.
On the right? That’s where the alarm bells ring.
“The main thing that stands out as an urgent need for Liverpool right now is replacing Salah, who was playing as a right winger,” Carragher said. “And I do not think Liverpool have any player in the squad who feels completely comfortable playing in the right wing position.”
The Barcola dilemma
The interest in Barcola underlines Liverpool’s intent to refresh their attack with elite young talent. But Carragher sees a risk in ploughing such a huge fee into a profile the club arguably already owns several versions of.
He is not against the signing. Far from it.
“If you asked me, do I want Barcola to arrive along with Liverpool signing a right winger too? I would be very happy,” he admitted.
There is a catch, though.
“Because players would have to leave, and that is of course a natural thing.”
In other words, if Liverpool commit to Barcola, the wide department will need trimming. That, for Carragher, is the only way the move truly makes sense – and only if it comes alongside a specialist right-sided forward to step into Salah’s void.
“At the moment, I felt that this summer should be dedicated to replacing Salah,” he said, “and Barcola does not make up for Mo’s departure.”
Ngumoha’s pathway under threat?
The debate is not just about balance on the team sheet. It cuts into the future of one of Liverpool’s brightest prospects.
Ngumoha, still only 17, has already started to turn heads. Carragher is a firm believer in the teenager’s potential – and in his need for minutes.
“Rio is a young lad, and he is really excellent, and I think he will keep developing from what he showed last season,” Carragher said.
Then he set out the tension at the heart of Liverpool’s plan.
“You are buying a very young player for a large sum of money in Barcola, and he is currently better than Rio Ngumoha.”
That is the reality of elite recruitment: the present often blocks the future. But Carragher expects Ngumoha to push hard, and soon.
“You expect in the end, over the next year or two, that Rio will want to play week in, week out with Liverpool, and it is up to him to prove that.”
There has been talk of Ngumoha picking up minutes on the right, giving him a broader education across the front line. Carragher sees the value in that flexibility for a teenager, but he is clear about where Ngumoha’s game currently breathes best.
“As a young player it is a good thing to play on both sides,” he said, “but I think his current position is the left wing.”
Which brings the conversation back to Barcola. One more left-sided attacker. One more obstacle on Ngumoha’s lane to the first team.
“So when you pay that kind of money for a young player in his position, it makes you a little uncertain,” Carragher admitted.
What a “wonderful” window would look like
Carragher is not trying to shut the door on Barcola. He is trying to shape the order of business.
For him, the ideal scenario is bold and ruthless.
“If they go out and bring in a player for the right wing position, and sign Barcola, then sell two of the wide players currently in the team,” he said, “then I think that would be a wonderful thing.”
That is the challenge now facing Liverpool’s hierarchy: balance the books, balance the squad, and, above all, balance the future of a prodigious talent like Ngumoha with the immediate, glaring need to replace one of the greatest forwards the club has ever seen.
