Andoni Iraola has said new signing Bradley Barcola could make his Liverpool debut in Friday's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town.
The forward brought to an end a summer-long saga when he completed his move to Anfield from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, joining for an initial £106 million ($143m) plus a potential £17m ($23m) in add-ons.
His last competitive appearance came for France in their 6-4 defeat to England on July 18 however, after joining up with his new teammates this week, the 24-year-old is likely to feature in the matchday squad at Portman Road.
"We are very happy with Bradley," Iraola said in his pre-match news conference. "It was our priority, let's say, to sign a very, very good player in that position. He has come also with the right mentality. I liked from him that he wanted Liverpool a lot.
"He just wanted to come here and I think that is a good first sign. Being the player that he is and the things that he has won recently, he has come with the willingness to help us. I am very happy with him and he trained well with us. If everything goes well in training today, he will definitely be available for tomorrow's game."
and (Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images) Asked whether Barcola could start Friday's game, Iraola added: "It's a good question. I see him in a good place, he has trained with us in three trainings. It is true he hasn't had minutes in preseason but he has been training normal with the group and then it's a decision we have to make. I think he is in a good place but we have to consider he hasn't had the minutes in the preseason games."
Barcola was Liverpool's fourth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Jérémy Jacquet, Víctor Muñoz and loan signing Ronald Araújo. While the Reds ended the window with the highest net spend of any Premier League club, they have failed to strengthen in a number of key areas -- and Iraola hinted he would have liked more reinforcements.
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"I'm very happy with all the signings we've made," the Liverpool boss said. "Three or four signings with Jérémy, I'm very happy with all the signings. I know the next question -- 'Do you want more signings in other positions?' At the end the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position.