‘No hope’ – Emmanuel Petit issues verdict on Liverpool star Bradley Barcola, makes Reds prediction

· Football365

Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit has issued a verdict on Bradley Barcola and Liverpool following his £123m summer move from PSG.

The Liverpool newbie has impressed in flashes in his first few appearances for his boyhood club, but everyone associated with the club will be hoping that he can kick on to live up to his price tag.

However, a compatriot of Barcola, ex-Arsenal star Petit, has warned the Liverpool forward that he quickly “needs to learn a different way of playing”.

> “Bradley Barcola needs to learn a different way of playing,” Petit told Boyle Sports.

> “Paris Saint-Germain play a very specific type of football. It’s in their DNA, how they respond to the position of the ball, everything is like an automation.

> “Liverpool are different but Barcola will bring them something they have been missing for the last two seasons: a man capable of running with the ball, taking the space behind the defenders, trying to break through into the final third and get one on one at all times.

> “That kind of player can be dangerous every time they touch the ball.”

Petit has also admitted that he is unsure whether Barcola has the necessary “mental strength” to thrive at Liverpool.

> “Is Barcola going to play the same way he played for Paris Saint-Germain? No, because Liverpool don’t play the same way, but he will play with that same ability,” Petit explained.

> “The only question is whether he has the mental strength to cope with the price tag of his transfer. We will have to see on that.”

> Petit added: “He now has the chance to do that for Liverpool, and he needs to make an impact straight away. They cannot wait on him like Florian Wirtz or Alexander Isak.

> “I think Barcola is a player who will adapt very quickly to Liverpool. That’s what happened at Paris Saint-Germain when he left Lyon. It took him a couple of weeks but then he was showing his great ability.”

Liverpool “have no hope this season”…

Speaking about Liverpool generally, Petit revealed why he thinks they have “no hope this season”.

> “Liverpool and Manchester United have no hope this season,” Petit said.

> “They are conceding too many goals just like Chelsea but I was even less convinced about both clubs and what they did in the transfer market.

> “They are both missing players and it’s hard to see how they can be favoured to finish in the top four, especially together. They may fight over that last place after Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, but that place may go to another team.”

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