Bradley Barcola was impressive when he came on as a second-half substitute in his debut for Liverpool at Ipswich on Friday night.
The French winger demonstrated his pace going forward – something Liverpool have been lacking since the departure of Mohamed Salah in the summer.
As the Reds prepare for Wednesday night’s Champions League opener at home to Atletico Madrid, head coach Andoni Iraola says that Barcola is ready to start the game.
“I think he played overall with extra time, 31 maybe or something like this,” Iraola said of his playing time at Portman Road. “I think he’s ready to play more minutes.
“He has been training quite normally. The only thing is he hasn’t had the pre-season minutes that normally players have.
“We have to consider this, but I see him in a really good place. I think he can play more minutes definitely.
“I don’t see him like limited, no, I see him like a normal player with this circumstance that he hasn’t had a lot of pre-season minutes to build his form.
“But I saw him playing very well and I think he is ready to play more, yes.”
A win against Atletico would be a huge boost for Liverpool as they look to fit into Iraola’s new high-pressing system.
Alexander Isak looked sharp on Friday and will hopefully put in another great performance at Anfield on Wednesday, while the back line is looking better after a leaky first couple of games.
