Arsenal still have an interest in Bradley Barcola, but they’re prioritising Vinicius Junior, allowing Liverpool to take the lead in the race for the Paris Saint-Germain winger.
Mario Cortegana reports for The Athletic that Arsenal have shown interest in Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain, but the Gunners are prioritising a possible move for Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid.
By contrast, Liverpool have made Barcola their top target, and they’re pushing ahead with the potential transfer.
L’Equipe write that Barcola has already been in contact with Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, giving his verbal agreement to join the club if they can reach a fee agreement with PSG.
Such a fee agreement is a long way off at this stage. The Athletic report that PSG want at least €170m (£145.4m) for Barcola, a huge valuation.
L’Equipe add that Liverpool have opened talks with PSG, but the French club are remaining firm on their financial demands, leading to a significant valuation gap between the two.
The upside of those stalling negotiations from an Arsenal perspective is that it’s unlikely Liverpool will be able to quickly secure a deal while the Gunners wait on Vinicius’ decision.
The concern is that if Vinicius opts to stay at Real Madrid, Arsenal will then be lagging significantly behind Liverpool in the race for Barcola. Even if PSG then lower their demands and Arsenal are willing to match whatever Liverpool will pay, Barcola is likely to prefer the club that prioritised him.
Arsenal’s summer is starting to take on a very all-or-nothing feel. The potential signings of Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius would be huge, but both pursuits are just as likely to fall through and put the Gunners back to square one.
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