Bradley Barcola opened his Liverpool account with a hat-trick in the Champions League last week, but is yet to score in the Premier League with Daniel Sturridge telling him exactly how to improve

Bradley Barcola has been told he needs to be more selfish in the final third and a little more direct than he's shown in the early stages of his life at Liverpool.

Barcola has looked creative for the Reds since signing in August, but has yet to score in the Premier League — taking a month to open his account with a hat-trick against LASK in the Champions League. The Frenchman became Liverpool's all-time most expensive signing, with fans excited to see him deployed off the left flank.

But he has received some criticism, with Jamie Carragher calling for more from his finishing to justify the price tag. While Sturridge agrees, the former Liverpool attacker has gone a little further in his evaluation.

Speaking on Amazon Prime, Sturridge said, "Players don’t choose their price tags, so of course there’s an expectation because of the price tag. But we’re talking about a player who has so much quality in the future, I think he can improve his finishing, which he will, but getting himself in these moments, and this is what we want to see more of, positioning himself centrally where he can impact more of the game.

"He’s going to evolve more over time, he’s going to have to be slightly more selfish if you ask me, shoot more because he can create his own chances.

"I think he tries to do the right thing, and players in attack who go ‘I see you, I’m gonna play you’, those are the types of players I love to play with. There’s nothing worse than playing with an attacker who will look in the whites of your eyes and decide to shoot anyway when you’re in the better position.

"Sometimes the best do that, because they trust their own ability, and that’s what I think he’s going to have to do."

Barcola has always been more of a creative player than a finisher, and he was never particularly prolific during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.

But Liverpool will hope to see him become a goal threat, being the replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Alexander Isak appears to have begun to justify the price tag Liverpool paid for him, with five Premier League goals in six games, with Barcola assisting his game-winner against Brentford this past weekend.

Barcola, Isak, and Florian Wirtz were all named to the bench on Tuesday, being rested after playing frequently over the past month, with Isak recovering from a slight muscle injury.