Ousmane Dembele- a brief introduction
By Amer Khosla
Ousmane Dembele is the newest addition to the Barcelonaa squad. This is a story on his footballing journey and why is worth the exorbitant fee paid for him.
He is rapid. Stands reasonably tall, at 1.78 meters. He is young and touted to be a future Ballon D’Or winner by many. No, I am not talking about the talismanic PSG and ex-Barca forward Neymar, but am talking about Barca’s newest signing: Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman has finally moved to Catalonia, after extended and tiresome negotiations with his former club.
"Ousmane Dembele: Barcelona agree £135.5m deal for Dortmund forward(BBC)http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41044659"
A deal worth 135.5 million Pounds does seem steep. However, most critics and analysts are saying that the former Rennais man is worth every penny. He scored 6 goals and assisted 12 more in mediocre Bundesliga season for Dortmund, last season. He also created 63 chances. As I’d said earlier, I didn’t fancy signing Coutinho much as he couldn’t really replace Neymar, the way Dembele could and now will. Dembele was always the more sensible option.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION:
The twenty-year old Dembele began his career with Stade Rennais, albeit with their reserve team. This was in September 2014, when he was just seventeen. His first goal for the team came soon after, in November. In May 2015, he netted a hat-trick, a sign of things to come, in a 6-1 mauling of Herouville. In his first full season at the club, he scored 13 goals in 18 games. Prolific, to say the least. In that same year, he was called up to the senior Rennais team.
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September seems to be a very lucky month for the young Frenchmen. Yet again, it was in September that Dembele made his senior team debut for Rennais against Angiers. In November, he netted his first goal for the club, against Bordeaux.
In May 2016, Dembele, already being touted as a future star, moved to Borrusia Dortmund. It was at Dortmund that he really came into his own. His debut didn’t arrive on a very auspicious day. Instead it came in a 2-0 loss to Bayern in the DFL-Supercup. He netted his first goal a month in a 5-1 Bundesliga win over Wolfsburg. On the 22nd of November, Dembele scored for Dortmund , in the memorable 8-4 victory over Legia Warsaw.
Ousmane really came into his own in the latter half of the season, scoring and providing assists left, right and center. In late April, he helped Dortmund knock Bayern out of the DFB-Polkal, by scoring the crucial winning goal. He then netted thee opening goal in the 2-1 final win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
WHY DEMBELE?
Many may ask, Why slash so much cash on a relatively unknown youngster? Well, most pundits agree that Dembele is a future Balon’d’Or winner. Whether or not he goes on to win the prize, the statement does signify something. His potential. At the tender age of 20, the Frenchman has shown skills and abilities that are rarely seen.
This is why the Barca scouts looked to snap him up last year and renewed their interest at the beginning of this transfer window, itself. The void left by Neymar can be filled by Dembele, maybe not this season , maybe not in the next two season, but in the long run. Dembele may soon prove to be worth his wight in gold.