Bradley Barcola, whose move to Liverpool for a reported £123m fee has been agreed, is a French winger whose career nearly stalled before a dramatic turnaround took him to the top of the game. Nicknamed the "grasshopper" for his speed and agility, the 23-year-old was out of favour at Lyon under coach Laurent Blanc in late 2022 and reportedly close to a loan move to Swiss side St Gallen, before a team-mate's dressing-room fallout gave him a route back into the side.

Barcola seized his chance, scoring five goals in the second half of the 2022-23 season including a winner against Paris St-Germain, and was signed by PSG for a reported £38.5m just months later. In three seasons in Paris he won three Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Champions Leagues, and broke into the France national team, scoring three goals at this summer's World Cup as Les Bleus reached the semi-finals. Born in September 2002 near Lyon, he joined Lyon's academy aged eight and credits his mother and older brother Malcolm, a goalkeeper, for shaping his football journey.