Michael Owen Warns Liverpool on Barcola's £145m Fee
Liverpool’s search for a successor to Mohamed Salah has led them to Bradley Barcola – but Michael Owen believes the club should be ready to slam the brakes on the move if Paris Saint-Germain refuse to climb down from their price.
The former Liverpool striker, speaking to the Liverpool Echo, did not dress it up. A £145m fee for Barcola, as reported in France, is in his eyes simply too much.
“That sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? For someone that’s not proven in the Premier League,” Owen said, reacting to PSG’s valuation. “If it gets to £145m, I mean, wow, that’s eye-watering.”
Liverpool’s recruitment team have pivoted towards Barcola after missing out on Yan Diomande and Michael Olise, and there is a sense the groundwork for a deal is already in place. Reports suggest Barcola has made it clear to PSG he does not intend to extend his contract beyond 2028, a stance that usually invites negotiation.
The French champions, though, are in no rush to fold. They are said to want around £145m for the 21-year-old winger, a figure Liverpool are unwilling to meet. The Anfield hierarchy are understood to be more comfortable closer to £100m, hoping to drag the fee towards the middle ground.
For Owen, there has to be a line in the sand.
“At some point you’ve got to say no, haven’t you?” he said. “I mean, I went on record a couple of months ago saying if I was Liverpool, I’d go and try to get Jared Bowen from West Ham to replace Salah. I thought that made a lot of sense.
“But, obviously, that doesn’t look possible anymore, so they’re going to have to.”
And there lies the tension at the heart of Liverpool’s summer: everyone knows they need a marquee wide forward. Everyone knows they have money. That combination rarely ends cheaply.
“The problem is everybody knows you’re desperate for a top-class player, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose,” Owen admitted. “That might be just what you have to do.
“But it sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? £145 million, that’s the number that you’re saying.”
For years, Liverpool’s front line picked itself. Salah on the right, Sadio Mane on the left, Luis Diaz joining to refresh the mix. They attacked in waves, with elite wide players stacked up and ready.
Now, Owen sees a very different picture.
“You know, it used to be Salah, and Mane and Diaz,” he said. “There’s so many great wide players [at Liverpool] over the years. And it feels like there’s a dearth of them, of course, now at Liverpool.
“They probably need two. They certainly need one.”
That shortage on the flanks is what keeps Barcola’s name high on Liverpool’s list. At 21, with Champions League exposure and the athletic profile to stretch defences, he ticks many of the boxes clubs now crave in a modern winger. Crucially, he also appears gettable.
“So, yeah, I mean, they do probably need to invest heavily in that type of position,” Owen continued. “And he [Barcola] seems to be one that’s available, that’s got the quality. And it sounds like there’s no smoke without fire.
“It sounds like they’d be interested, but a lot will depend on the price, I guess.”
Liverpool know the risks of sitting out a window when a key pillar of the side has moved on. They also know the dangers of being dragged into a fee that could distort their entire wage and transfer structure.
Somewhere between £100m and £145m lies the decision that will define not just this summer, but the next phase of Liverpool’s attack.
