For a talent of his stature, football fans do not get to see enough of Bradley Barcola.The 23-year-old forward would walk into most starting line-ups, but faces fierce competition for minutes at Paris Saint-Germain and with the French national team, possibly the most talented club and country pairing in world football.Those fights for selection have reduced him to something of a squad player: he started only half of France’s eight World Cup games, and just four of PSG’s nine knockout matches en route to retaining the UEFA Champions League last season.The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported in late June that Barcola appeared reluctant to sign a new contract while getting less game time than he would like. And, as also reported by The Athletic, Liverpool and Arsenal are among the clubs with Barcola on their radars. PSG are under no pressure to sell, though, and value him at more than £100million ($134m).That is a huge figure, but in a transfer market undergoing rapid inflation, it could actually be a coup if it means landing one of the most exciting young talents around.Here, The Athletic looks at why he is so in demand.How many transfers do Liverpool actually need?Jon MackenzieBarcola is blessed with a broad range of attacking qualities, but it is his blistering pace that is most striking.According to tracking data provider SkillCorner, Barcola ranked fourth across Europe’s top five leagues for ‘Peak Sprint Velocity’ last season, which measures the 99th percentile of his physical activities above 15km/h, clocking 32.7km/h.When Barcola turns on the burners, there is little stopping him — as Arsenal found out in the 96th minute of the Champions League final in May, when he burst through to create a huge chance to win the game, only to skew his shot wide.This is how Barcola typically channels his explosive speed. His SkillCorner run profile shows that the majority of his off-ball movement comes in the form of direct runs in behind.Get the pass to him right, and he is virtually guaranteed a one-v-one opportunity.As a right-footed left-winger, Barcola likes to bend these runs from outside to in, so carrying him both towards goal and onto his stronger foot. He particularly likes to attack through balls slipped between centre-back and full-back, darting in from the latter’s blindside.By the time the opposition’s right-back has spotted the danger and orientated himself, Barcola is already disappearing into the distance.It was this exact movement that led to his goal in Saturday’s World Cup third-place play-off against England, while the other example below comes from his strike in PSG’s 3-0 Ligue 1 defeat of Le Havre last November.On the ball, Barcola’s speed makes him a natural dribbler, completing 1.85 take-ons per game, the 12th-highest figure in France’s top flight last season. But with a dribble success rate of just 36.7 per cent, the third-lowest among the division’s top 20, there is plenty of room for refinement.