Chelsea have made an enquiry for Lyon forward Bradley Barcola, but a reliable journalist has revealed that they aren’t the only club in the race to secure his services with interest outside the Premier League.
Who is Bradley Barcola?
Barcola is naturally a right-winger who has plied his trade at the Groupama Stadium since his childhood days having worked his way up through the various youth ranks to get promoted to the first team back in January 2022, where he’s since gone on to make a total of 46 senior appearances.
The France youth international still has another three years remaining on his contract, but having established himself as Laurent Blanc’s third best-performing offensive player last season, he’s caught the eye of Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
According to RMC Sport’s Fabrice Hawkins, Todd Boehly has placed the 20-year-old on a shortlist of options as an alternative to Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise who ended speculation of a move by signing a new long-term contract with Roy Hodgson’s side, with chiefs entering the market to find a replacement for Christian Pulisic following his permanent switch to AC Milan.
Are Chelsea signing Bradley Barcola?
Taking to X, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Chelsea have now developed their interest in Barcola by approaching Lyon to discover what it would take to complete a transfer before the end of the summer window. He wrote:
“Paris Saint-Germain are not happy with club to club talks for Bradley Barcola as OL have changed original asking price multiple times. Barcola agreed terms with PSG in June but club to club situation now tense. Chelsea also asked for Barcola deal conditions last week.”
In Ligue 1 last season, Barcola racked up an impressive 14 goal contributions (nine assists and five goals) in 26 appearances, form which saw him receive three man-of-the-match awards, but he also proved to be a threat even when the ball didn’t always hit the back of the net.
The Gestifute client, who pockets £6k-per-week, ranked in the 94th percentile for number of attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area and the 92nd percentile for aerial wins, highlighting his desire to not only create chances but additionally make himself a target man in the final third, despite only standing at 5 foot 11.
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Furthermore, Villeurbanne’s native has been deployed in four different positions since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline and even slightly deeper on the left side of the midfield, so he would provide the boss with some welcome versatility where he could easily adapt to the role he’s asked to play in.
Finally, Barcola has been dubbed an “elite” player by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, and whilst it's unknown whether he would be ready to slot straight into the first-team fold considering that he's still only 20 and has no experience at this level, Pochettino clearly feels he can utilise him immediately to be targeting him as an alternative to Olise.