Who is Bradley Barcola? The Olise alternative on Chelsea's wishlist

 

Earlier this week, Chelsea activated Michael Olise's £35m release clause. The Frenchman was also being monitored by Manchester City after an impressive season with Crystal Palace, but despite triggering the clause, Olise turned down the chance to swap south for west London and instead penned a new deal with the Eagles, in the process removing the lowly fee. 

 

Back to the drawing board for Chelsea, then, who despite an abundance of wingers on the books already, are looking at wide targets between now and the window closing. One of those is young French star Bradley Barcola. Chelsea already have a working relationship with Lyon having signed Malo Gusto from the French side earlier this year, and they could utilise that partnership to land Barcola this month. 

 

The 20-year-old played a bit-part role for OL last season with 11 of his 26 appearances coming from the bench, and the hope for the French side is that he can establish himself as a regular in the starting XI... that is, of course, if Chelsea don't sign him in the coming weeks. Understandably, Lyon are keen to keep one of their prized young talents, but with the Blues willing to spend on a new attacker, that may prove easier said than done. 

 

Despite registering just 1438 minutes of game time in the 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign, Barcola still ended the season with five goals and eight assists to his name, at a rate of a direct goal contribution every 111 minutes. Those stemmed from modest averages of 1.7 shots and 1.6 key passes per 90, but it's the way in which Barcola carves out the space to wreack havoc in the final third. 

 

A return of 2.5 dribbles per 90 in Ligue 1 last season has contributed to a statistically calculated WhoScored style of play of 'likes to dribble' and while he made not always succeed when he seeks to take on an opponent - he boasts a 50% success rate since the start of the 2022/23 campaign - there is a determination to try and try again, which will undoubtedly sit well with supporters. Given the aforementioned shots and key passes averages, Barcola evidently doesn't just take on an opponent for the sake of it, but rather looks to open up angles to help put teams to the sword. 

 

 

There's no denying that Chelsea's core weakness last season was the inability to put the ball in the back of the net. Top scorer Kai Havertz has departed for Arsenal, and the German alone scored just seven league goals. In fact, five of Chelsea's top eight scorers in the Premier League last season have departed for pastures new. This list includes Jorginho, who left in January, centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Joao Felix, who joined on loan at the turn of the year from Atletico Madrid. 

 

The Blues have of course sought to rectify their goal woes with the signings of Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, though the latter is absent for the foreseeable future owing to a knee problem sustained in pre-season. The midfield has been shored up with the summer additions of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu, that in itself previously a key area, and attention turns back to the frontline now. 

 

An additional reason behind the interest in Barcola is his versatility across the frontline. Yes, his best position is as a right winger, and gives Mauricio Pochettino the option to revert to a 4-2-3-1 setup in the future should he wish to do so having used a three-man backline against Liverpool at the weekend. Yet crucially Barcola is able to operate right across the frontline, meaning he could play in one of the two support roles behind the striker, just as Raheem Sterling and Carney Chukwuemeka did so at Stamford Bridge last weekend. 

 

However, there is more to Barcola's game than just hurting opponents in the final third. Yes, his primary aim is to either get on the scoresheet himself or provide for others to net, which he does do very well. In addition, though, Barcola works hard off the ball, reinforcing a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'defensive contribution'. Indeed, he returned modest averages of 1.6 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per 90 in Ligue 1 last season, all the while making a respectable four tackles in Lyon's opening weekend defeat at Strasbourg. 

 

Another way for a team to create goalscoring chances is to pressure defences high up the pitch, and as we've seen with Pochettino sides in the past, they do look to press high. As such, Barcola would be a good fit in the final third for the Blues. He'd seek to do all he could to upset the rhythm of defences in order to force mistakes at the back that Chelsea could capitalise upon. 

 

Lyon are reported to have priced Barcola at £43m, which is slightly higher than Olise's previous release clause, but at 20 years of age, and regular game time, that figure will only rise as the attacker continues to develop. Barcola is another who has risen through the esteemed Lyon ranks, a talented conveyour belt that has produced the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Hatem Ben Arfa and Rayan Cherki, so there is an obvious desire to rebuff any efforts to land the youngster. 

 

However, as an Olise alternative, Barcola would provide more directness in the final third than his compatriot, but crucially not let this impact his creativity. With his hard work out of possession, there is an argument to be made that the latter would be a better fit than the former, so it'll be interesting to see whether Chelsea do firm up their interest in the rising Lyon star.

Who is Bradley Barcola? The Olise alternative on Chelsea's wishlist