Liverpool to launch £80m bid to sign Iraola’s new Semenyo

Every managerial appointment has its risks, yet there’s so much to like about incoming Liverpool boss, Andoni Iraola, with the 44-year-old working wonders at Bournemouth in recent seasons.

Other managers might have publicly vented their frustration at the departures of a string of key figures from the Vitality Stadium, yet Iraola merely stuck to the job at hand, embarking on a remarkable unbeaten run even after Antoine Semenyo‘s sale in January.

The Spaniard had played his part in overseeing the explosion of the Ghanaian winger prior to that, with Semenyo recording 44 goals and assists in just 99 games under his tutelage.

Iraola – as he has also done with Rayan and Eli Junior Kroupi – has showcased what he can do with exciting, fleet-footed forwards, ensuring he could be the perfect man to lead Liverpool into a new era as Mohamed Salah drifts off to pastures new.

Liverpool could launch £80m bid to sign Diomande alternative

It’s been a relatively muted start to the window as far as the Merseysiders are concerned, albeit with the primary focus still that of RB Leipzig sensation, Yan Diomande.

The suggestion is that the Anfield side have agreed personal terms with the Ivorian, although the sticking point is the Bundesliga side’s exorbitant price tag, set to be in excess of £112m.

For a player who is still only 19, and who only made the move to Germany last year from Leganes, that figure appears a little steep, with there surely more value to be had in the market.

Well, as per CaughtOffside, if Diomande does prove to be out of reach, the Reds could look to a certain Bradley Barcola instead, the Paris Saint-Germain man also lighting up the World Cup himself for France.

As per the report, there is a suggestion that FSG could lodge a bid of around £80m for the 23-year-old, with a move away potentially on the cards amid his reduced role at the Parc des Princes.

The future of Diomande could also be a factor too, with there a sense that if the Ligue 1 side make a move themselves for the teenager, that could open the door for Liverpool to pounce for Barcola.

Why Barcola could be Iraola’s new Semenyo at Liverpool

Much of the appeal around Iraola is the work he has done with Bournemouth’s attacking talents of late, be it Rayan, Kroupi or the aforementioned Semenyo, the latter of whom sealed a marquee move to Manchester City earlier this year.

Previously a solid, albeit unspectacular performer in the second tier with Bristol City, having scored just 21 goals in 125 games for the Robins, the London-born speedster came alive after Iraola’s arrival in the Cherries dugout.

Be it off the right or the left, there was a freedom to Semenyo’s play on the south coast, the chief architect behind the side’s often devastating counter-attacking ability.

In his final full season at the Vitality in 2024/25, for instance, Semenyo scored and assisted 16 Premier League goals, creating a stellar 11 ‘big chances’ and averaging 1.9 successful dribbles per game.

He’d always been a handful at Bristol, yet working with Iraola helped to mould those raw skills into producing a potent end product, something that the Spaniard could perhaps replicate with regard to Barcola.

Like Semenyo, the Frenchman’s physical attributes are almost frightening at times, able to burst in behind a defence in double-quick time, as he did repeatedly off the bench in PSG’s Champions League final win over Arsenal, as well as a year earlier against Inter.

There was no end product on that occasion, although he did subsequently deliver the goods in France’s opener against Senegal, dinking the ball beyond Edouard Mendy amid a breathtaking second-half cameo.

He’s never truly been the star attraction in Paris, amid the presence of Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, yet there is the opportunity to secure talismanic status at Anfield.

All the qualities are there for him to flourish as Iraola’s new attacking figurehead, with even a quieter 2025/26 campaign seeing Barcola notch 11 goals and one assist, creating 11 ‘big chances’ and averaging 1.2 successful dribbles per game.

That record isn’t too dissimilar to Semenyo’s own return from the year prior, with Barcola also shining himself in 2024/25, racking up 24 goals involvements in Ligue 1, while creating 18 ‘big chances’.

He’s a terror for opposition defenders, particularly off his favoured left flank, the type of player who can win a game on his own, just as Semenyo so often did back at Bournemouth.

With Salah on his way, and with the rest of Liverpool’s attacking unit struggling for form and fitness, Barcola could be the fresh injection of quality that this team is craving.

Diomande, at 19, is an exceptional talent, but Barcola is already a two-time Champions League winner and boasts significant pedigree already at just 23.