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The 2026/27 Premier League season is set to begin soon, but Liverpool are yet to assemble the squad they need to return to challenging for major honours. Signing Bradley Barcola will put them in a fine position to get closer to the likes of Arsenal, although the Gunners are strengthening their squad as any good defending champion should, with a deal to sign Bruno Guimaraes nearly complete. As exciting as the idea of Barcola at Anfield is, there are concerns over how much Liverpool will need to pay to sign him. This is something Michael Owen has expressed concern about. Michael Owen discusses the plan to sign Bradley Barcola in yet another Liverpool marquee signing Speaking exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO, the 46-year-old said: “Barcola, he’s obviously the big name on everybody’s lips. It sounds like he might be available. “It sounds like he’s going to be expensive, though – but they’re going to have to make some form of statement signing, of course. You know, it used to be Salah, and [Sadio] Mane and [Luis] Diaz. “There’s so many great wide players [at Liverpool] over the years. And it feels like there’s a dearth of them, of course, now at Liverpool.” Owen worried about the reported costs of signing Barcola, but Liverpool won’t meet PSG’s asking price Speaking about the potential £145m price tag PSG are demanding for Barcola, Owen added: “That sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? For someone that’s not proven in the Premier League. “Obviously played at the highest level, but, yeah, at some point you’ve got to say no, haven’t you? If it gets to £145m, I mean, wow, that’s eye-watering… “And the problem is everybody knows you’re desperate for a top-class player, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose. “That might be just what you have to do. But it sounds extortionate, doesn’t it? £145 million, that’s the number that you’re saying.” Liverpool won’t spend £145m on signing Barcola While £145m would be far too much for Barcola given his lack of Premier League experience, age and relative lack of minutes for PSG given the huge price PSG are demanding, several reports from top journalists have already made it clear that Liverpool will not meet the €170m (£145m) asking price. The Reds are hoping to do business somewhere between £100m and £110m, citing the amount paid for Florian Wirtz. The difference is that the German was an undisputed starter for Bayer Leverkusen while Barcola has often been on the bench to accommodate Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desiree Doué. You could argue that if Barcola were playing for a smaller team like Leverkusen, then he would have had more minutes but it’s difficult to use hypotheticals to make a case in negotiations. Either way, Liverpool will certainly not be spending £145m on Barcola, which is £20m more than the Premier League record they set to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer.