The Premier League is a different ball game when compared to any other competition in the football world, as Liverpool forward Bradley Barcola has quickly learned.
The France international joined the Reds in a big-money move this summer, but had yet to record a goal or an assist for his new club.
He featured from the start against Manchester City as the Reds suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of their rivals at Anfield, after which he admitted that the Premier League is different from other competitions.
Patience is beginning to wear thin for the 24-year-old, and one of his compatriots, Emmanuel Petit, was far from impressed as he referred to the winger as being 'overrated'.
Petit Shares Honest Thoughts on Liverpool Star Bradley Barcola
Former Premier League star Emmanuel Petit was a guest on talkSPORT's White & Jordan show, where he spoke about the performance of his compatriot in the English top-flight.
He pointed out that he would never have paid as much as Liverpool did for Barcola, stating that while the winger is a quality player, his quality was heightened in the French league by the quality of the team he played for.
Petit also pointed to Barcola's lack of consistency as a reason why he would only pay around half of what Liverpool did for him.
"£120 million? I would never put that price tag on the table. We all know that in France, we know that he is a quality player, he could be sometimes great, but he doesn't get the regularity during the game. He was good most of the time with Paris because of the whole team behind him.
I will probably spend somewhere around £60-70 million maximum. That's my opinion. It's becoming common now that English clubs are spending so much money on overrated players," he said.
Liverpool endured a protracted saga before they eventually landed Barcola in the summer, paying just below their club-record transfer fee to sign the France international.
Barcola Made Premier League Admission Ahead of Man City Defeat
Bradley Barcola spoke about his new-found understanding of the Premier League before he featured for Liverpool in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The 24-year-old admitted during an interview with Sky Sports that the level of intensity in the Premier League is quite different to what he was used to in France, where physicality was a big part of the game.
"Ligue 1 is very physical. But here, I would say it’s more physical in terms of the running you have to do. The games are end-to-end.
The intensity is so high. But that’s also why I came here. It’s a new challenge for me to take on," he said.
Barcola was hailed for his explosiveness when he came on for his debut against Ipswich Town, and has since played five more times for the Reds without scoring or creating any goals.
His goalscoring numbers from his time in France points to the fact that he will come good for the Reds, but his adaptation process may take a bit of time before he finds his best form.
