Barcelona: Aaron Ramsey and Ousmane Dembele swap deal suits neither club

Malcom’s arrival at Barcelona has led to rumours about Ousmane Dembele’s future.

According to The Sun, Aaron Ramsey and cash could be the agreement to bring Ousmane Dembele to Arsenal if Barcelona opt to sell him this summer. The French winger had a tough first season due a couple of injuries which stymied his adjustment into the team.

He showed glimpses of his talent last season and he certainly has a high talent ceiling. Dembele has the potential to be a scary attacker with his mixture of close control, sharp acceleration, vision and decisiveness. However, his mentality is an area that needs to improve if these rumours about wanting a move away are to be believed.

Dembele is still one of the top prospects in the world, so his availability would attract a lot of suitors. Therefore, it’s understandable why Arsenal would be interested in signing him. The rumoured deal doesn’t suit either club based on their current needs, though.

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Ramsey is an integral part of Arsenal’s set-up due to the drive and incisiveness he provides from deep. He can finally play deep in a two-man midfield because the Gunners have brought in Lucas Torreira to be the ball-winner they so desperately need.

Torreira can provide the energy to apply pressure and break up opposition attacks as well as being capable on the ball. This gives Ramsey the licence to roam forwards and be involved in final third play as well as being a late threat into the box.

The Welshman isn’t what Barcelona need right now even though they do need to upgrade the midfield. Barcelona either need an experienced deep-lying playmaker to dictate play or a pivot to be a back-up for Sergio Busquets if the club trusts Arthur to control games. Ramsey is more of a box-to-box midfielder or an advanced playmaker, which Ivan Rakitic and Philippe Coutinho already fill for the club

Selling Dembele also wouldn’t make sense because his value has gone down after his struggles last season. It would be strange for him to force a move because he’s likely to be a first-team player at a top European club this season, although it could be slightly out of position on the left-wing.

At Barcelona, Malcom is the only other winger, so Dembele fills a specific but important need for the club because of the space he creates in central areas and only has one player — Malcom –providing direct competition.

Arsenal have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi competing for the forward positions to name just a few. The variety of roles these players fill means that Unai Emery has flexibility in how he can set up his team. This means that there would be a lot of competition for places and they might not utilise a formation which is optimal for Dembele due to the defensive work required.

Ramsey does only have a year left on his contract which is a major problem for Arsenal, but this isn’t a good solution and it certainly doesn’t help Barcelona. Keeping Dembele should be a priority, but it’s up to him to realise the good situation he currently finds himself in.

Not many players get the chance to be at Barcelona at his age and there is a realistic chance of winning the Champions League and the league or even the treble next season.