Andoni Iraola Prepares for Bradley Barcola's Debut at Ipswich

Andoni Iraola is wasting no time. Liverpool’s new manager is ready to throw £123m signing Bradley Barcola straight into the Premier League storm at Ipswich on Friday night, convinced the French winger’s talent and attitude justify an instant debut.

Barcola only walked through the doors at Anfield on the penultimate day of the window, Liverpool wiring an initial £106m to PSG with add-ons nudging the deal close to the club-record fee paid to Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer. No pre-season minutes, no gentle easing-in. Iraola sees enough in training.

“We are very happy with Bradley; it was our priority to sign a very, very good player in those positions,” Iraola said on Thursday. The word that kept coming back was “mentality”. Barcola pushed for Liverpool. “I like that he wanted Liverpool a lot. He wanted to come here.”

That matters to Iraola. He has watched the 21-year-old hit the ground running at Kirkby, even without the rhythm of summer games. “It’s a good first sign, and being the player he is, he has come with the willingness to help us. He is playing well for us [in training], and if everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for us tomorrow.”

Available is one thing. Starting is another. Iraola didn’t hide the dilemma.

“Good question,” he replied when asked if Barcola might go straight into the XI or be used off the bench. “I see him in a good place. He has trained for us; indeed, he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season. He has been training, and it’s a decision we have to make. But we have to consider he hasn’t had minutes in pre-season games.”

A manager who made his name with intensity and high pressing is weighing the risk of unleashing a blockbuster signing who has yet to feel the pace of a match this summer. The temptation is obvious.

Gakpo stays – and still starts

On the opposite flank of Liverpool’s transfer story sits Cody Gakpo. While Barcola arrived, Gakpo stayed – but only after a major decision from above Iraola’s head.

Manchester City tested Liverpool’s resolve with an £80m offer. FSG said no. The Dutch forward held clear-the-air talks with the ownership, and now Iraola has moved quickly to shut down any notion that Gakpo’s role might shrink after the saga.

“My relationship with Cody has been very honest from the beginning,” he said. “He has played very well for us so far. He was always aware of the situation in the market; we were constantly talking, and I hope we can keep him at the same level. He is in a good place physically and mentally, and I’m very happy to pick him.”

That last line matters. Gakpo is not a reluctant prisoner of the window. He is part of Iraola’s plan, starting with the trip to Portman Road.

Life after Salah on the right

The obvious question hangs over Liverpool’s right wing. Mohamed Salah has not been directly replaced, at least not in the traditional sense, and Iraola is unbothered by the lack of a like-for-like specialist in that channel.

“We prefer at the end to have the best players rather than players specifically for that position,” he said. He wants adaptable forwards, not fixed-role wingers.

“I’m used at other teams to demand wingers to play on both sides. We’ve played with Rio and Cody now on the right; probably most of the wingers play on the left, but I’ve seen them good on the right.”

Barcola, too, fits that profile. “Bradley is very open and can play on the left or the right. At Lyon, he sometimes played on the right. It depends on the match-ups, but I’m happy with the wingers we have, and we are going to be able to cope on the right.”

The fee, though, will follow Barcola everywhere he goes. Iraola knows it, and he moved quickly to strip that weight from his shoulders.

“We can’t put pressure on the players to perform because of their price because we’ve seen how much players have cost at other teams this summer. Once he is our player, he is our player!”

No caveats. No asterisks. Just another attacker expected to run, press and produce.

Tough start, tougher opponent

For all the noise around transfers, Iraola still chases something far more basic: his first win as Liverpool manager.

Two games, two 2-2 draws. Points dropped, leads surrendered, frustration growing.

“Definitely. If you don’t win, you are frustrated,” he admitted. “It’s only two games, but we need to win. This game tomorrow, the first two games weeks are the most difficult, but I’m much more comfortable now the market is closed, and we know who we are. We have to perform and do our job.”

Standing in the way is an Ipswich side that has already shown it belongs at this level. Iraola has watched them closely.

“Ipswich are a team that won their first game at home. Even the other day, in the first half they were the better team until United got the 2-1 and the game opened up. We have to be ready, give our best.”

So the scene is set. A manager chasing his first win. A record-breaking winger desperate to justify his move. A forward who stayed put after City came calling.

If Iraola really “knows who we are” now that the window has slammed shut, Portman Road is where Liverpool must start proving it.