Liverpool have been told to pull out of the race to sign Bradley Barcola after Paris Saint-Germain set a £145million asking price for the winger.
Barcola scored 13 goals in all competitions as Luis Enrique’s side won Ligue 1 and the Champions League last season.
However, the Frenchman is not keen to sign a new contract with PSG after falling down the pecking order and may seek to engineer a move away from the club this summer.
The Premier League champions Arsenal are looking to strengthen the left side of Mikel Arteta’s attack and have interest in Barcola as well as Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.
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Liverpool have also been credited with interest in Barcola as they look to strengthen in wide areas following the departure of Mohamed Salah over the summer.
Reports in France suggest that Barcola has reached an agreement in principle to join Liverpool after holding talks with new Reds boss Andoni Iraola.
However, there is still a way to go to get a deal over the line, with PSG slapping an eye-watering €170m (£145m) transfer fee on the 23-year-old.
And given that asking price, Steve Nicol believes Liverpool should consider keeping their powder dry and saving their money for cheaper alternatives.
‘Well, I’m glad that they’ve got interest in Barcola,’ the former Reds defender told ESPN. ‘There’s no question he’s a player. He’s exciting.
‘I think he certainly would have fitted in the mould of previous Liverpool managers, and no question he’ll fit in the same mould as Iraola. The problem is they’re looking for, what, £145 million?
‘I’m sorry, he’s a really good player, but he hasn’t done enough, in my opinion, to be touted for £145 million. Let’s take the facts.
‘The facts of the matter are Bradley Barcola hasn’t been a regular starter in the PSG side. It’s a fantastic team, but he’s generally been coming off the bench. He made 29 Ligue 1 appearances last season.
‘I’d love to know how many of them, A, were off the bench and B, when he was giving others a rest. If Liverpool could sign Barcola, he’s only going to get better, but not at £145 million, not from me.’
However, with under a month left until the new Premier League season, and with several areas still needing strengthening, Nicol admits that Liverpool may have to start paying over the odds to get the requisite signings in the door.
‘Liverpool have got themselves in a position where I don’t think they’re going to have any choice but to overpay for players,’ he added.
‘They need too many players, and so they are going to end up spending more money than they probably normally would or should.
‘Liverpool are in a tough spot right now. They need half a dozen players, so they’ve got themselves in a position right now, the complete opposite of last year where they had money, they had the choice, they were going and getting who they wanted.
‘This year, they’re scratching around, and I just hope they’ve got some players up their sleeve, because right now, we’re way too close to the start of the season, and Liverpool don’t have enough players, in my opinion, right now.’
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