Bradley Barcola says he feels no pressure to replace Mohamed Salah at Liverpool, insisting he wants to make his own contribution to the club’s history.
The French winger joined from Paris Saint-Germain in a £123million move this summer, becoming Liverpool’s second-most expensive signing. Salah left Anfield at the end of last season after scoring 257 goals in 442 appearances for the club.
“Regarding Mo Salah, he’s a legend here. A huge one,” Barcola told Sky Sports. “He’s done big things here and for that I have an enormous respect for him. But it’s not pressure for me at all.
“I’m not Mohamed Salah, so I’m going to try to contribute whatever I can to the club and make my own mark on its history.”
Barcola also played down the significance of his transfer fee. “I wasn’t the one who decided the transfer fee, so that’s not been my problem,” he said.
Hat-trick offers a glimpse of Barcola’s potential
The 24-year-old endured a quiet start at Liverpool, going 10 matches for club and country without a goal or an assist. He then scored a hat-trick in the Champions League win over LASK and followed it with assists in victories against Brighton and Brentford.
Barcola said he has yet to reach his best and believes his understanding with his new team-mates is improving.
“You still haven’t seen the best version of me,” he said. “Once we really develop that understanding, things will get much better. People are beginning to understand my style of play much better.”
The move ended a successful spell at PSG, where Barcola won the Champions League in each of the previous two seasons. He said leaving was difficult because the team had become “a real family”, but felt it was the right time for a new challenge.
“When a club like Liverpool comes calling, it’s a great thing. I didn’t have any doubts and I just knew I had to come here,” he said.
Barcola wants Liverpool to control matches better
Barcola also shared his view on how Liverpool can improve their play under manager Andoni Iraola. He said the team need to control games more and keep possession on the ground rather than relying so often on long balls.
“I think we need to work on being able to control the game more and play more football,” he said. “Often, when we’re in a game like this, we resort to long balls. But in my opinion, we should try to keep the ball on the ground more, because we have players with the quality to do that.”
The comments came after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, a result Barcola said left the team disappointed. He maintained that the defeat had not changed their season’s ambitions and said the players needed to remain consistent.
Liverpool face Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Barcola looking to build on the encouraging signs of recent weeks and establish a reputation of his own at Anfield.
