Liverpool’s most important deal this season isn’t going to be Bradley Barcola

Obviously, since the summer transfer window slammed shut, it's now clear to see that Bradley Barcola was easily one of Liverpool's most important deals of the summer.

The attacker is seen as Mohamed Salah's replacement despite him not being a natural right-winger.

So, with this in mind, he clearly has some massive boots to fill.

The Frenchman managed to make his Liverpool debut against Ipswich on Friday evening and, while it was only a 26-minute cameo, he managed to prove why the Reds bought him in the first place.

But, of all the moves that Liverpool have made and will make this season, it still doesn't feel like Liverpool's signing of Barcola will be their most important deal of the campaign.

Liverpool must extend Alisson's contract again next summer

At the end of the 2025-26 season, Liverpool extended Alisson's contract with the club for another year.

The Reds were considering allowing the Brazilian to exit Anfield with Juventus even having a meeting about the 'keepers potential move to Turin.

However, once Andoni Iraola was brought in, those talks were shut down and Alisson was told that he'd be staying put.

The extension was only an extra year but, after his performance against Ipswich on Friday, it already feels like Liverpool need to extend his contract once again.

Indeed, his injury history is a tad worrying but, on his day, Alisson is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

He's got the Reds out of so many bad situations and has sometimes single-handedly earned them three points.

So, even though they've got plenty of time to sort another contract out for him before his current one expires, with how important he clearly is to the club, the Brazilian signing an extension could quickly become their best deal of the season.

Alisson's performance vs Ipswich in numbers

As mentioned, despite the stellar performances of Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak on Friday night, Alisson was arguably one of Iraola's best players.

Ipswich had 7 shots on target with the Brazilian managing to save five of them.

And, as per Sofascore, the rest of his statistics were also fairly impressive.

He successfully completed 100 per cent of his runs out from the game and made one punch.

Despite being between the sticks, he reached a top speed of 24.4 km/h (15.2 mph) and he also covered well over five kilometres.

Alisson had 55 touches of the ball throughout the clash and maintained a pass accuracy of 75 per cent.

The Brazilian has been a mainstay for Liverpool for as long as anyone can remember now.

And, while his time as the Reds' first choice may be up soon, with Giorgi Mamardashvili and Lucca Brughmans seen as his potential successors, it still feels like he's much better than both of them.

So, depending on how many games he misses through injury this term, Liverpool should definitely make him sign a new deal because, at the end of the day, there's no point having some of the best outfielders in the world if your 'keeper is below par.

Which, at the moment, Mamardashvili certainly is.