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HIDDEN TARGET: WHY BRADLEY BARCOLA EMERGED AS LIVERPOOL’S TOP CHOICE AFTER THE SEMENYO SNUB

Liverpool rival Bayern for PSG star Bradley Barcola. See how the winger fits Arne Slot’s plans following Mo Salah’s recent outburst.

Hidden Target: Why Bradley Barcola emerged as Liverpool’s top choice after the Semenyo snub
Barcola is considering leaving PSG despite Champions League glory.

Liverpool is reportedly eyeing PSG winger Bradley Barcola as a possible signing.

PSG wants to lock Barcola into a new contract, especially with Liverpool showing interest. Since joining Lyon in 2023 for about £40 million, Barcola’s had a great run in Paris. He’s already won two Ligue 1 titles and helped PSG claim their first-ever Champions League trophy last season.

But here’s the thing: Barcola isn’t always in the starting lineup. With Khvicha Kvaratskhelia coming in and Desire Doue on the rise, Barcola sometimes finds himself on the bench. In PSG’s penalty shootout win over Marseille for the Trophée des Champions, Barcola only came on in the 72nd minute to replace Kvaratskhelia.

Still, he’s a real talent—five goals and four assists in 23 games this season isn’t bad at all.

Right now, RMC Sport says PSG has offered Barcola a new contract. His current deal runs until 2028, but his camp hasn’t given any response yet. PSG wants to know where he stands so they can make plans. According to RMC Sport, the club is preparing for anything and already has a shortlist of possible replacements if Barcola decides to leave. For now, though, he’s never actually said he wants out, even with Liverpool and Bayern Munich circling.

So, will Liverpool go for him? They probably want another winger this summer, especially since fans were surprised they didn’t push harder for Antoine Semenyo, who ended up at Man City for £65 million.

Barcola can play on either wing, which could tempt Liverpool. They need someone who can eventually step in for Mo Salah. Salah’s contract runs until 2027, but he’ll be 35 by then, and there are already questions about his future—especially after he claimed he’d been “thrown under a bus” following a 3-3 draw with Leeds. He lost his starting spot before heading to the African Cup of Nations with Egypt.

On the left, Liverpool could use more depth, too. Cody Gakpo is the only real senior option, and he’s had an up-and-down season.

"EVERYONE WAS UNHAPPY"—VIRGIL VAN DIJK REVEALS THE LOCKER ROOM REACTION TO GABRIEL MARTINELLI

Virgil van Dijk reveals Liverpool squad fury over Gabriel Martinelli's shove on an injured Conor Bradley. Get the latest scans.

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Virgil van Dijk slams Gabriel Martinelli

Virgil van Dijk didn’t hold back—he said the entire Liverpool squad was furious with Gabriel Martinelli after he clashed with Conor Bradley.

Van Dijk was clearly angry. Martinelli dragged Bradley off the pitch, and at first, it just looked like a heated moment. But then everyone realised Bradley had actually injured his knee pretty badly.

After the match, Martinelli apologised. He reached out to Bradley directly and insisted he honestly didn’t know how serious the injury was.

Bradley left the field on crutches, wearing a knee brace. He was in obvious pain. Still, Martinelli tried to shove him off the pitch, which sparked a full-on brawl at the end of the game.

Van Dijk said, "Everyone was upset. Not just a few of us—everyone. And for good reason. Conor was down on the pitch, clearly hurt, and seeing someone push him off just isn’t a good look.

"You guys have probably seen the clips. For us, it all happened so fast. There was a long ball, Conor challenged for it and went down, then Martinelli pushed him off the pitch, and that set everyone off. We all came together, but in that moment, nobody really knew what was going on. It just looked bad, especially for Martinelli.

"Right now, we’re just thinking about Conor. He’s got medical tests in the next day or so, and we’ll have to adjust."

Liverpool ended up grinding out a hard point at Arsenal, keeping their unbeaten streak alive at ten games. Van Dijk admitted it wasn’t exactly pretty, but he was happy with how they stuck to their plan.

He said, "First, all our thoughts are with Conor. Hopefully, it’s not as bad as it looks, but it doesn’t look great. As for the game, I thought our plan was outstanding.

"We let their centre backs have the ball because we didn’t think they’d be able to hurt us that way, and that’s why they hardly created any chances.

"Sure, it didn’t always look great, but you could go all out and take risks, or you could stick to the plan. We knew a match was 90 minutes, and eventually, we’d get our chances. That’s what happened in the second half.

"We played really well with the ball. Honestly, it felt like we could’ve taken more than just a point, but I’m proud of the team, especially against a side in such good form.

"No team can press for the full 90 minutes as they do at the start, so we just kept at it, made them try to find a way through, and they really struggled.

"The guys worked so hard defensively, and then in the second half, we found the gaps and the right players in between the lines.

"We didn’t create any huge chances, but considering we’re missing two proper strikers, the lads were still brilliant. We’ll take the point and move on."

"I FEAR THE WORST"—ARNE SLOT’S HEARTBREAKING UPDATE ON CONOR BRADLEY’S KNEE INJURY

Arne Slot reacts to Conor Bradley’s "potentially serious" injury and the controversial Gabriel Martinelli shove at the Emirates.

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Slot breaks the silence on Martinelli scuffle as Bradley faces scans

Arne Slot’s worried. Conor Bradley picked up a bad injury, but he didn’t want to pile on Gabriel Martinelli after the Arsenal winger clashed with the injured Liverpool defender. Late in the match at the Emirates—we’re talking the fourth minute of stoppage time, still 0-0—Bradley went down hard after a tussle with Martinelli. It looked like a knee injury.

While Bradley was still lying near the sideline, Martinelli kicked the ball at him, then tried to push him off the field. That sparked outrage from Liverpool’s players. Ibrahima Konate got booked for his reaction, while Martinelli only saw yellow from Anthony Taylor.

Now Bradley faces scans to see just how bad the damage is. Liverpool’s worried. He left the stadium on crutches, and, honestly, it doesn’t look good for him—especially since he almost scored earlier, rattling the crossbar in the first half. They fear he’ll be out for a while.

Slot sounded pretty downbeat about it. “I don’t know the injury yet, but it didn’t look great if you have to come off on a stretcher,” he said. He’s hoping for good news, maybe even that Bradley could play Monday, but you can hear the doubt in his voice.

As for Martinelli, Slot took a step back. He said he doesn’t know the Arsenal man personally, but Martinelli seems like a decent guy. The real issue, Slot thinks, is that football these days is full of time-wasting and players faking injuries, especially late in games. When you’re desperate to score, it’s easy to get frustrated and think the other side’s just stalling.

Slot gets it—the emotions run high, especially in the 94th minute. He’s seen it before: players exaggerating or trying to milk the clock. He’s sure Martinelli wouldn’t have done what he did if he’d realised how serious the injury was. But with all the diving and gamesmanship in football now, it’s no wonder players get suspicious when someone goes down late in a close match.

So, Slot understands why Martinelli reacted the way he did—even if, looking back, it doesn’t look great.

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