"Nobody could have imagined this. And I still think he will improve."
Jean-Francois Vulliez, former head of Lyon's academy
When Kylian Mbappe finally left for Real Madrid, the last of the superstar signings had departed Paris Saint-Germain. The demand was that somebody had to step up. It is not so long ago that nobody would have anticipated that man being Bradley Barcola.
And yet here we are. The 22-year-old forward brought in from Lyon in August of last year has already scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 this season, out on his own as the competition's top scorer. There is a new hero in Paris. It is Barcola who is Next Up…
Trusted with more responsibility, freed by the exit of the dominant Mbappe, more aspects of his game are emerging. The dazzling dribbles remain but the goals are finally flowing too, something Barcola had appreciated that he needed to add.
Luis Enrique, the PSG head coach, will often remind him of the importance of possessing that killer instinct in front of goal.
It required a mentality shift from a young man who has gone from decorating games with a flick or a trick to deciding them. He is changing perceptions.
Javier Pastore, the former PSG playmaker, has even argued that Barcola could reach Mbappe's level.
It is astonishing that this is even a question being asked regarding a player who was close to being loaned from Lyon to Switzerland in search of minutes as recently as January of last year…
“That was a turning point,” Jean-Francois Vulliez tells Sky Sports.
“A club in Switzerland was interested because he was not playing for the first team. At that time, Laurent Blanc was the coach and we had Karl Toko Ekambi. But he decided he wanted to leave so the coach decided to stop the loan because we might need Bradley.
“It was a key moment because he realised that if Toko Ekambi left, Bradley could be a solution and there was an opportunity to use him. Toko Ekambi did leave and Bradley stayed. One match later, there was an injury and Laurent needed him."
Thrust into the Lyon starting line-up, he started scoring, finding the net four times in six appearances, including a winner away to PSG at the Parc des Princes that would become his home. His career path was set on a completely different trajectory.
“It was the beginning of the story.”
Vulliez, the former head of Lyon’s academy, has known Barcola since he was just a boy. He saw the transformation, felt the joy at seeing a level-headed lad with talent to burn progress into a France international featuring for his country at Euro 2024.
But Vulliez is also keen to stress that this was no generational sensation, just another player with big ambitions. “He was a normal kid, he never played above his age category, never jumped a stage. His maturation was a normal process,” he explains.
“It is an interesting pathway because every player is different. Sometimes, there are players like Mbappe who mature very early. Others need time. Bradley never played for France in the age-group teams. He was a good player but not physically ready.
“We were very patient with him at Lyon because we knew he had the skills, we just had to wait for that maturation process, that psychological maturation, that physical maturation. When that transformation eventually happens, they will improve quickly.”
Perhaps it helped that it took time because it shaped his development. Unable to simply bully defenders, not yet the lanky but imposing figure that he has now become, Barcola had to find other ways. “He developed his intelligence,” says Vulliez.
“He was able to scan the pitch, take good information and use the space. Very early, he had this and he had speed. Then, he progressed with his muscles, became powerful. It is a combination of these tactical abilities, technical abilities and physical abilities.”
That evolution continues, particularly Barcola’s tactical progression. Until the age of 17, he was used as a No 9. “He was very clever with his runs inside.” But like many young players, he has made the breakthrough at senior level operating from the left flank.
“Because he played as a striker, he retains that ability to know when he needs to come inside and when he needs to run beyond. With Bradley in your team, you need to use this capacity to come between the lines or run from deep, because it is his strength.
“We never had a problem with him at the academy because he is intelligent and he listens so when you are the coach that makes it easier to manage him because he can adapt to whatever strategy the coach wants to use. He understands because he is clever.
“I do not think you can transform a player after the age of 17 because if the player does not have the intelligence at that age then they will never have it. That is why it is vital to develop this intelligence early. Bradley has it. You can adapt his position later.”
The ability to be adaptable is a crucial skill for all elite performers but in the case of Barcola, it is worth remembering how quickly his life has changed. Within months of that aborted loan to Switzerland, the interest from PSG became apparent. It was a tumultuous time.
He switched agents, linking up with Jorge Mendes, whose connections in Paris are well known. “It was difficult for him,” says Vulliez. “He was offered a very high salary, the chance to play with many famous players.” It was enough to turn any young head.
“I remember in that July and August, his body was in Lyon but his head was in Paris. That was very hard for him and I think it was a relief for him to go to Paris in the end because Bradley is not a player who puts pressure on himself. He just wants to play football.”
It took until December to score his first goal and there were only four in total in Ligue 1 last season, hence the surprise that he has been able to have such an impact second time around. Even now, there is the sense of more to come, a need to up it again.
For example, he is still waiting for his first Champions League goal this season, blanking four times in what has been an awkward start for the club in Europe. In the home defeat to Atletico Madrid, he was snatching at chances that he would tuck away domestically.
“That is the next step,” says Vulliez.
“Becoming a regular performer in the Champions League is difficult but I believe he can improve a lot. Physiologically, a player can get better until 24 or 25 and there are many very good players who improved their finishing when they became more mature.
“As with every young player, sometimes they need that push but he has the mind to do it and that makes it easier. Maybe the left wing is the better position for him right now but I am curious to see how he develops because I believe he is able to become a No 9.”
That is for the future. For the fans now pouring into the Parc des Princes wearing his jersey, for Luis Enrique who has become reliant on his goals, and for Barcola himself, the focus is on the here and now and how this young man has become a symbol of PSG.
Mbappe is gone, so too is Lionel Messi and Neymar. Instead, when the teams are read out, the biggest cheer these days is reserved for Bradley Barcola. “Nobody could have imagined this four or five years ago,” says Vulliez. You never do know who is Next Up…
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