Barcola - the 'grasshopper' who has overcome setbacks

There was a moment, not so long ago, when Bradley Barcola's career appeared to have stalled.

Having earned rave reviews after nailing down a regular starting place in Lyon's starting XI under Peter Bosz, the 20-year-old winger was out of favour and in the reserves by the time the Dutch coach was replaced by Laurent Blanc in October 2022.

According to L'Equipe, , external Barcola was close to joining Swiss club St Gallen in January 2023 in order to get more game time before an act of petulance by a team-mate helped pave his return to the side.

Fans were unhappy with the team's poor form - making first-choice forward Karl Toko Ekambi a target for their frustrations.

The relationship between the Cameroon international and Lyon's ultras fractured further when he stormed down the tunnel and kicked a rubbish bin in frustration after being substituted during a 2-1 home defeat by Strasbourg.

The incident was caught on camera and Toko Ekambi never played for Lyon again.

That presented Barcola with an opportunity which he seized. He started the majority of the remaining matches that season, scoring five times, including a winner at champions-in-waiting Paris St-Germain in April 2023.

Five months after that goal at the Parc des Princes, Barcola was a PSG player.