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Bradley Barcola: Stepping up from PSG’s left flank

Bradley Barcola: Stepping up from PSG’s left flank

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The development of football talent is an inexact science. We like to believe that prospects will progress in a linear manner and go from strength-to-strength each year, but the reality is that’s not always the case. 

By Mohamed Mohamed

The development of young players can go in different directions, including periods of stagnation. Despite this, football clubs have become more and more aggressive in recent years towards acquiring youngsters in the hope that they’ll make the leap into stardom, at times paying a premium for any hint of potential during their early years. 

In Bradley Barcola, we have an example of someone who might be having something of a meteoric rise. He’s had a fascinating start to his career for someone who only recently turned 22-years-old. Rewind the clock back to January 2023, and he was barely getting playing time for Olympique Lyonnais, to the point of reportedly seeking a loan move away from the club. In less than two years, he’s gone from an interesting young talent to a budding star who might be on the verge of making that vaunted leap into superstardom, something that could turn around both the fortunes of himself, and Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcola looks the part of the modern-day winger, largely operating on the touchline and looking to stretch the opposition’s backline. He’s a heavy volume dribbler at a decent success rate, with 2.95 dribbles per 90 in Ligue 1 in 2023-24 at a 50.5% success rate. Barcola’s style of dribbling is fascinating, because while he’s an impressive athlete, he doesn’t have an overwhelming first step. Rather, he utilizes feints and quick ball rolls in combination to get his opponent off balance. It’s the 2nd and 3rd step where the explosion really shows itself. One could classify his dribbling style as more of a reactive style than proactive. His goal vs Le Havre as a substitute was a nice example of how effective his style of dribbling can be, especially during transitions.

Barcola’s dribbling helps him get access to dangerous areas for creating chances, including those valuable cut-backs which the best clubs regularly manufacture. The output is quite impressive, whether it be assists (0.38 per 90 in 23-24) or expected assists (0.25 per 90). Some of that is boosted through taking advantage of transition opportunities. He makes the basic reads you’d expect from him against a low block, but the high-end inventive passes aren’t quite there yet in his repertoire. In that sense, it’s fair to argue that his output perhaps overstates how good of a playmaker he is right now.

Passing stats, Ligue 1 2023/24

Without the ball, Barcola shows some inventive moments despite his wide positioning. He’s comfortable utilising quick 1-2 combinations to take advantage of aggressive man-marking. His recent goals vs Montpellier and Lille showed how impactful that type of movement can be, especially during transitions. On occasion, he can attempt diagonal runs towards the middle against the blindside of the fullback. When moving into the left half-space, he could be more aggressive at making straight-line runs. 

Looking at Barcola’s shot chart from last season, it somewhat resembles what you would expect from a touchline winger. Most of his shots come from the wide left zone of the box, which tend not to be of the highest quality unless it’s during fast breaks. In those tight areas, he has different finishes he’ll attempt, including toe punt shots and the trademark Thierry Henry-like finish. Some of his off-ball strengths, along with playing for a super team, means he doesn’t have to resort to a ton of long-range opportunities. 27 of his 33 shots in Ligue 1 last season were inside the box, although the lack of shots in the central zone led to having an expected goal per 90 rate of 0.25, a good but not great rate compared to others at his position. 

Shot map, Ligue 1 2023/24

It’s been fascinating to see Barcola assume a larger role in attack this season. His shots per 90 have nearly doubled to over four at a non-penalty xG of 0.94, although the sample size is quite small at just over 200 minutes. There was a lot of intrigue around how PSG would look like in the post-Kylian Mbappé era, and so far, they’ve won all four of their league matches with a +13 goal differential. The next few matches will bring a stiffer test for this remodeled PSG side, particularly with Champions League bouts vs Girona and Arsenal. Barcola maintaining this level of production will be key to whether they’re seen as real contenders for the European crown. 

Since the calendar turned to 2024, Barcola has nine goals and seven assists in just over 1800 minutes of competitive action, an impressive return for almost any player, let alone one at his age. He’s seemingly growing in confidence with every match, and is continuing to evolve physically. The early 20s is where we expect young attackers to make the leap, and Barcola looks to be right on schedule. If this form continues, it won’t be long before we start talking about him as one of the better players in European football.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from Ligue 1 and the Champions League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Bradley Barcola: Stepping up from PSG’s left flank

The development of football talent is an inexact science. We like to believe that prospects will progress in a linear manner and go from strength-to-strength each year, but the reality is that’s not always the case. 

By Mohamed Mohamed

The development of young players can go in different directions, including periods of stagnation. Despite this, football clubs have become more and more aggressive in recent years towards acquiring youngsters in the hope that they’ll make the leap into stardom, at times paying a premium for any hint of potential during their early years. 

In Bradley Barcola, we have an example of someone who might be having something of a meteoric rise. He’s had a fascinating start to his career for someone who only recently turned 22-years-old. Rewind the clock back to January 2023, and he was barely getting playing time for Olympique Lyonnais, to the point of reportedly seeking a loan move away from the club. In less than two years, he’s gone from an interesting young talent to a budding star who might be on the verge of making that vaunted leap into superstardom, something that could turn around both the fortunes of himself, and Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcola looks the part of the modern-day winger, largely operating on the touchline and looking to stretch the opposition’s backline. He’s a heavy volume dribbler at a decent success rate, with 2.95 dribbles per 90 in Ligue 1 in 2023-24 at a 50.5% success rate. Barcola’s style of dribbling is fascinating, because while he’s an impressive athlete, he doesn’t have an overwhelming first step. Rather, he utilizes feints and quick ball rolls in combination to get his opponent off balance. It’s the 2nd and 3rd step where the explosion really shows itself. One could classify his dribbling style as more of a reactive style than proactive. His goal vs Le Havre as a substitute was a nice example of how effective his style of dribbling can be, especially during transitions.

Barcola’s dribbling helps him get access to dangerous areas for creating chances, including those valuable cut-backs which the best clubs regularly manufacture. The output is quite impressive, whether it be assists (0.38 per 90 in 23-24) or expected assists (0.25 per 90). Some of that is boosted through taking advantage of transition opportunities. He makes the basic reads you’d expect from him against a low block, but the high-end inventive passes aren’t quite there yet in his repertoire. In that sense, it’s fair to argue that his output perhaps overstates how good of a playmaker he is right now.

Passing stats, Ligue 1 2023/24

Without the ball, Barcola shows some inventive moments despite his wide positioning. He’s comfortable utilising quick 1-2 combinations to take advantage of aggressive man-marking. His recent goals vs Montpellier and Lille showed how impactful that type of movement can be, especially during transitions. On occasion, he can attempt diagonal runs towards the middle against the blindside of the fullback. When moving into the left half-space, he could be more aggressive at making straight-line runs. 

Looking at Barcola’s shot chart from last season, it somewhat resembles what you would expect from a touchline winger. Most of his shots come from the wide left zone of the box, which tend not to be of the highest quality unless it’s during fast breaks. In those tight areas, he has different finishes he’ll attempt, including toe punt shots and the trademark Thierry Henry-like finish. Some of his off-ball strengths, along with playing for a super team, means he doesn’t have to resort to a ton of long-range opportunities. 27 of his 33 shots in Ligue 1 last season were inside the box, although the lack of shots in the central zone led to having an expected goal per 90 rate of 0.25, a good but not great rate compared to others at his position. 

Shot map, Ligue 1 2023/24

It’s been fascinating to see Barcola assume a larger role in attack this season. His shots per 90 have nearly doubled to over four at a non-penalty xG of 0.94, although the sample size is quite small at just over 200 minutes. There was a lot of intrigue around how PSG would look like in the post-Kylian Mbappé era, and so far, they’ve won all four of their league matches with a +13 goal differential. The next few matches will bring a stiffer test for this remodeled PSG side, particularly with Champions League bouts vs Girona and Arsenal. Barcola maintaining this level of production will be key to whether they’re seen as real contenders for the European crown. 

Since the calendar turned to 2024, Barcola has nine goals and seven assists in just over 1800 minutes of competitive action, an impressive return for almost any player, let alone one at his age. He’s seemingly growing in confidence with every match, and is continuing to evolve physically. The early 20s is where we expect young attackers to make the leap, and Barcola looks to be right on schedule. If this form continues, it won’t be long before we start talking about him as one of the better players in European football.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from Ligue 1 and the Champions League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG and player ratings. Download the free app here.