5 Michael Olise alternatives who Chelsea could pursue

#2. Bradley Barcola

If Chelsea choose not to pursue Cherki, it is because they’ve pivoted to his teammate. On Thursday evening, it was revealed that the Blues are now in hot pursuit of forward Bradley Barcola. The French attacker provides a much different profile than all of the other players on the list, as he stands at 6’2″ and excels in the air. Size and height have been an area of emphasis for Pochettino and the board, and the signing of Axel Disasi reflects that. They could have a similar philosophy here.

Barcola played regularly for the first time last season, and rewarded Lyon with five goals and eight assists across just 15 starts and 26 matches in total. He’ll also turn 21 in a few weeks, which shows that the Blues will not be straying from their ideology of buying established young talents.

The 20 year old has no glaring weaknesses in his game, but could stand to improve his long-range passing. It’s harder to judge his underlying numbers based on low pass volume, but Barcola does produce assists at an astonishing rate. In addition, the numbers suggest that he is very strong off the ball, and especially adept at using his height in the air.

Barcola could be an intriguing player to see line up alongside players like Nicolas Jackson and Mykhaylo Mudryk, whose pace and movement would benefit greatly from Barcola’s evident playmaking abilities. Over the next few days, the Frenchman is definitely one to watch.