Liverpool boss Iraola has 100% trust in Wirtz and Barcola
- Liverpool spent over £200 million ($265 million) to acquire the pair but both have come in for criticism
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola defends big-money signings Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola, asserting their contributions are unfairly judged by transfer fees and statistics, and he trusts them to perform.
- Manager's defense of big-money signings.
- Criticism of Wirtz and Barcola's performance.
- Misleading nature of player statistics.
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has no doubts that big-money signings Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola will deliver for the club and says their contributions to the side are being overlooked due to the constant focus on their transfer fees.
Liverpool spent over £200 million ($265 million) to acquire the pair but both have come in for criticism.
Wirtz had an underwhelming 2025-26 campaign and has just one assist this season, while Barcola, who arrived in August, has yet to produce a goal or an assist.
“With Bradley and Flo, they have had good games and bad games this season like everyone else,” Iraola told reporters on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League meeting with LASK.
“We know their level and we know they will give us good performances. “The other day, if Lewis Koumas scores the goal that he connects with really well (in their 3-0 loss to Manchester City), then it is one assist for Bradley Barcola.
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“His performance would be exactly the same but we will all say: ‘Oh, he played really well with an assist.’ Sometimes we focus only on the numbers.
“With Bradley, the other day he had good situations and we did not finish them. Bradley and Flo are players that I trust 100%.”
Liverpool face LASK in Linz later on Wednesday, before travelling to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
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