PSG to face competition in pursuit of Lyon wonderkid Bradley Barcola

A few months ago, during last season's winter transfer window, one surprising name seemed to have entered the radar of PSG in order to bolster their attack: it was young Olympique Lyon wonderkid Bradley Barcola. Well, turns out he's back in the rumor mill linked to PSG.

It is no secret that PSG will and actually need to strengthen their offensive line. Some obvious, top-tier targets have already been more than identified and confirmed by one source or another, the likes of Harry Kane, Bernardo Silva, and Victor Osimhen. However, the club seems to be walking a parallel line in their scouting efforts as they're trying to find and sign the most promising talents in world football.

Bradley Barcola, the forward from Ligue 1 rival Olympique Lyon, falls into the latter category and could end up joining PSG this summer... if the capital club can fend off opponents trying to poach the bright youngster.

According to information obtained and reported by Fabrizio Romano on Saturday, June 1, PSG are "showing interest" in the 20-year-old forward, who is currently under contract at Lyon through June 2026. Romano also mentioned RB Leipzig as a potential suitor for the young Lyon forward.

Barcola is coming off a season in which he played 31 matches for Lyon logging 1,778 minutes and scoring 7 goals while assisting his teammates 9 times in all competitions. Barcola started 20 of those 31 games even though he was barely 20 years old at the start of the 2022-23 season.

RB Leipzig make sense as a potential club interested in the player, as Romano revealed. The German club has a history of providing opportunities to young talents, such as former PSG Academy product and new Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku.

Lyon have yet to make a final decision on whether or not they want to sell their youngster, let alone assess the potential offers for him and deem them good enough to go ahead with the sale.

Barcola's agent is Jorge Mendes, who has a close relationship with PSG since the arrival of Luis Campos as sports advisor, which should be mentioned as that might give PSG a slight advantage they could need in order to overtake Leipzig or other clubs in the pursuit of the young talent.

Most recently, a report published in RMC Sport confirmed PSG's long-standing interest in the Lyon Academy product and added information related to the interest of incoming manager Luis Enrique in the prospect. On top of Leipzig, RMC mentions Manchester City as another potential club interested in the acquisition of Barcola.

According to the information obtained by RMC, Lyon "have not set a price tag for the player" and "his sale is not a priority in their plans." The outlet also made clear that if Lyon needs to sell players this summer, Barcola "is not at the top of the list, and other attacking elements are likely to depart before him."

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