Leo Dubois, former Olympique Lyonnais team-mate of 22-year-old winger Bradley Barcola, spoke to L’Équipe newspaper about Paris Saint-Germain’s rising star. He spoke of his room for improvement in front of goal, his ability to score a lot of goals in a single season and his preferred position.
Dubois “ He still has room for improvement in the box”.
“Between his early days with Lyon and even PSG and today, there’s been a big evolution. He’s become a complete player. He can manage his strong points and his weak points, and he has the self-confidence to create a lot of situations. In terms of efficiency, he’s evolved even further. But he still has room for improvement in the box.
Dubois “ Already this season, he’ll be close to or even over 20 goals”.
25-30 goals this season?
Already this season, he’ll be close to or even over 20 goals. His start to the season has been exceptional, and his rise has been meteoric. He still has room for improvement when it comes to finishing, because he manages to create a lot of situations for himself.
Dubois: “ For me, for the moment, he’s still a corridor player”.
A replacement as a striker?
I’m a little sceptical, but I think he uses the line well. Will having his back to the game enable him to express his speed as he does on the flank? Today, he’s in his preferred position. For me, for the time being, he remains a corridor player who creates space.”
Dubois is quite right in what he says. Barcola is still working hard to become the player everyone expects him to be. Flashes of brilliance are no guarantee of consistency, and Barcola has yet to prove his worth over the longer term, including in the Champions League. As we’ve seen this season, he’s capable of scoring often, and that makes all the difference compared to last year when PSG had a big striker.
As for his positioning, he doesn’t yet seem to be heading for the number 9 spot. Luis Enrique likes his percussive qualities on the flanks too much, as well as his defensive work. Having said that, never say never, Barcola has the qualities to play in the middle, score and continue to show his qualities. It would just be a little too soon.
