Iraola hoping 'good news soon' as Liverpool close in on Bradley Barcola

By Carl Markham, Press Association

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola is hoping for “good news soon” over the deal to sign Paris St Germain winger Bradley Barcola but admits he will not be happy until the transfer window closes.

The Reds’ summer-long pursuit of their primary target is finally coming to an end with a fee of just over £100 million (€116 million) agreed in principle – with the deal including add-ons amounting to a further £20 million.

Plans are for another wide player to be recruited, with the club interested in Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr, and the Basque has not ruled out a late signing if the opportunity arises.

But Iraola admitted he did not know what was going to happen and could not even guarantee the likes of Cody Gakpo, linked with Tottenham, would remain at the club despite his goalscoring start to the season.

On Barcola, he said: “As you know we are trying to sign in that position and we cannot talk about players that right now are not ours but it is evident we are trying to improve and fill or trying to fill that position because we don’t have the numbers.

“I hope we can have good news soon but we are still not there.

“I don’t know what is going to happen, we have to be patient – even myself – for another four or five days and then we will know. I will be comfortable on September 2 when they tell me ‘This is who we are, these are the options we have’ and then we can start thinking about players in the positions.

“I have in my head what I want, we have been talking since the beginning and they know also what we want, and then it is a matter of closing the deals.

“You think I can smell who we are going to sign or what position, but experience shows you that, if there is an opportunity on the last day, let’s take it.

“Ideally is the magic word. I am sure if we can improve other areas we will but I don’t know how the market is going to finish.”

Iraola could not rule out any departures before the window closes, although it would seem more probable the likes of Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott will leave before Gakpo.

“When the market is open you cannot guarantee anything with anyone. I don’t know what is going to happen with any of our players,” he added.

“Fede (Chiesa) is not available, as in the (friendly) game against Como he felt something in his back and is not available.

“In Harvey’s case, he is trying. He is improving every week, but still I prefer other options.”