Arsenal and Liverpool receive Bradley Barcola apology with transfer preference clear

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Arsenal and Liverpool transfer target Bradley Barcola has been advised to reject a switch to either club and stay put at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, with an apology offered to the Premier League sides. T hey have been monitoring the winger closely during the World Cup , where he is turning out for France .

The 23-year-old has found the net twice and registered an assist across his five outings in the tournament. He will be back in action when France face Morocco in the quarter-final on Thursday night (9pm kick-off).

It seems that Arsenal could have the advantage in the transfer race for Barcola. It has been reported that the winger would favour a switch to the Gunners over Liverpool .

Despite his contribution for France this summer, Barcola was rotated in and out of the PSG first team last season. The French powerhouses appear poised to wrap up the capture of Yan Diomande , which will create additional competition for places.

It has sparked speculation that departing PSG might be the wisest move for Barcola. But former French international Marcel Desailly takes a different view.

Speaking to Sportcasting , Desailly delivered a straightforward transfer message to the winger. "Should he move to the Premier League ? Not yet. Not yet at all," he said.

He apologised, saying: "Sorry Arsenal and Liverpool fans. He should stay at Paris Saint-Germain, play 25 games a season, and grow within that system."

Desailly pointed to the experience and lessons he is learning from the World Cup campaign: "Barcola doesn't need to leave PSG. "He's too young. He's only 23-years-old. Didier Deschamps is teaching him a lesson and he's giving him a chance," he said.

"I never expected Didier to swap him with Desire Doue. He has really given him a chance – and he's been rewarded for it. I thought that for Barcola to start and play 90 minutes at the international level, he wouldn't do it because Barcola is too light on defensive discipline.

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"Remember, we play with four offensive players, and bringing Barcola into the system could have been another weakness because he doesn't make the effort to defend. When you look at his previous matches with PSG, or even some of the matches he did for the national team during the Euros, he had that weakness.

"He's young; the attention and defensive alertness isn't there to match the speed he projects when he's going forward. He wasn't making the effort to get back into position.

"So he's growing, he's learning, and he's getting that winning mentality on both sides of the game – being available for the team structurally without the ball while also being the one who makes the difference, just as the older players are doing."

Barcola featured in 49 matches across all competitions last season, netting 13 goals and laying on seven assists. Reports emerged earlier this month that the winger has informed PSG of his wish to depart the club , which would hand Arsenal and Liverpool a significant lift.

Mikel Arteta is eager to bolster his attacking options this summer as the club looks to defend their Premier League crown and go one step further in the Champions League . Barcola came off the bench in the second half for PSG as they defeated Arsenal on penalties in the competition's final.

Liverpool, meanwhile, also had their eyes Diomande. But attention turned to Barcola after it emerged that the RB Leipzig star has chosen to move to PSG.