Barcelona’s investment in Ousmane Dembélé is paying off
After Barcelona signed Ousmane Dembélé from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million, the move was criticised. Just the season before, the club had had the opportunity to sign the young Frenchman from Stade Rennais for a fifth of the fee paid to Dortmund.
But the Bundesliga giants beat Robert Fernández to it. But the former technical secretary of Barça overpaid for the French international. But the huge investment, the second-biggest in the club’s history, is slowly starting to pay off as Dembélé starts to realise his potential.
In his debut season, Dembélé was plagued by injuries and could make just 20 appearances all season, scoring 4 goals and providing 6 assists. This season, he has already bettered his appearance tally, and has bettered last season’s record.
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In 22 appearances, the 21-year old French winger has scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists. He has been dazzling on the left with his combination with Jordi Alba, while he has also done well on the right, in place of captain Lionel Messi.
His consistently good performances have now relegated Philippe Coutinho to the bench, and the Brazilian playmaker doesn’t seem like making a return to the first-team with Dembélé’s form now. He has shown excellent crossing and finishing this season, also world-class dribbling.
It is needless to say that Ousmane Dembélé is among the world’s finest players. He hasn’t entered the league of Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo yet, but he can be certainly compared with the likes of Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah.
His two-footed game, and pace, also make him a massive threat from counter-attacks. Dembélé seems to be adapting to the Barça style of play, in his own way and in his own time. He has successfully transitioned from a winger to a forward.
But Dembélé still has a long way to go, and the fact that he is upping his game is encouraging, but not the end of the story, just its beginning.