In December 2025, Arne Slot stated: “That was one of the things I want to add to this team – incredible pace. Because I see a lot of the top teams have one, two, three individuals who have a pace that is exceptional”. Liverpool had sold Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz with speed, while Salah had “lost a few yards” from his lead over his opponents. The World Cup showed Liverpool are now on the right track in the transfer market.
Arne Slot is history at Anfield, but the words about the need for players with exceptional pace linger. The World Cup playoffs showed that the Reds are lagging behind on the international stage. On the World Championships top speed list, Cody Gakpo was 247th on the list with a top speed of 33.16 km/h, Florian Wirtz had a top speed of 33.03 km/h (264th) and Alexander Isak was all the way down to 343rd with 32.61 km/h. Ryan Gravenberch was the fastest Liverpool player in the championship (35.61 km/h), followed by Virgil van Dijk (35.14 km/h).
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In recent weeks, Liverpool have been heavily linked with PSG’s speed phenomenon Bradley Barcola. The French international achieved a top speed of 36.32 km/h, making him the seventh fastest player in the tournament.
Football is so much more than speed, but Liverpool really need two or three players in the starting eleven who can give Liverpool the necessary extreme speed. 23-year-old Bradley Barcola is definitely one such player.
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