Chelsea target Barcola tells Lyon he wants to leave - but there's one problem

Stuart Telford

• 25 Aug 2023 18:40 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea target Bradley Barcola has reportedly told Lyon that he wants to leave the club, but Paris Saint-Germain are in pole position to sign him ahead of them and Barcelona.

Barcola exploded onto the scene last season, with five goals and eight assists from his 26 Ligue 1 games, only 11 of which were starts.

At 20, the Frenchman fits Todd Boehly's 'Vision 2030' at Chelsea, and would find former Lyon teammate Malo Gusto for company at Stamford Bridge, but PSG are closest to agreeing a deal for the wantaway winger.

READ: Bradley Barcola's FootballTransfers profile

"According to our information, OL winger Bradley Barcola told his coach and management on Friday that he wants to leave Lyon," reports Fabrice Hawkins for RMC Sport. "The France youth international has expressed his desire to join PSG.

Barcola wants PSG

"Barcola spoke with his manager Laurent Blanc on Friday to request a move… In the final straight of the transfer window, PSG also want to sign Randal Kolo Muani [from Eintracht Frankfurt], and for the moment PSG and Lyon don't have an agreement."

Barcola is currently valued at €10.7 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm but Lyon can expect to receive significantly more with multiple clubs expressing interest in the services of a winger who is under contract until 2026.

READ: CONFIRMED: PSG offer Hugo Ekitike to Premier League clubs as Ligue 1 outfit ask for £27m

As well as Gusto, Barcola would be teammates with fellow Frenchmen Christopher Nkunku, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu and Malang Sarr at Chelsea, although the path to first-team football might be blocked.

Todd Boehly recently invested in Lyon's Ligue 1 rivals Strasbourg, and Angelo Gabriel has already made a move to le Racing on loan.

PSG might be better placed to give Barcola better first-team minutes straight away. Despite signing Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona, they have lost Lionel Messi and Neymar - to Inter Miami and Al-Hilal - this summer.