Ousmane Dembele finds new life under new Barcelona manager

The Frenchman is entering his fourth season at Barcelona.

Ousmane Dembélé’s career so far at Barcelona has been nothing short of disappointing. The club signed him from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017 for a large transfer fee and the forward has spent most of his time out injured.

Dembélé hopes that the injuries are behind him and is looking forward to working with new manager Ronald Koeman.

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According to Mundo Deportivo, he is motivated by the arrival of the Dutch manager because Koeman relies on quick wingers who can get into space and Dembélé believes he can thrive in his system.

It is worth pointing out that Koeman is Dembélé’s third manager since he’s been at Barcelona. While injuries have kept him on the sidelines, even when he was healthy, the conservative style under Ernesto Valverde meant he was not used as much as he would have liked.

Quique Setien only lasted six months and was only managed by him during training. He was given the medical green light ahead of the Bayern Munich game but was an unused substitute.

Koeman and his staff also feel that the Frenchman is going to be a vital piece in rejuvenating the squad and have a fitness specialist that is keeping close tabs on Dembélé to make sure that he is training well in order to avoid any more muscle injuries.

Dembélé not the only Barcelona player who could find new life under Koeman.

Dembélé is not the only who may think that their fortunes may change and may still have a future with the Catalan side.

According to Sport, left-back Junior Firpo is staying at the club as he has impressed Koeman during training. They also add that the manager does not want to be left with only one left-back in the squad.

However, despite standing out, should the club get a good offer for the former Real Betis man, they will study it and would be likely to accept it. It is worth noting that Jordi Alba was one of the players that was singled out by Josep Maria Bartomeu as potentially on the way out.

While Koeman has told Alba that he counts on him, given his age, his time at Barcelona is nearing its end.

The other player who is back and hoping to stick around is Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian returned to training following a somewhat successful stint at Bayern Munich where he won a treble though not getting the minutes he hoped he would when he made the move.

He is back in preseason ahead of schedule to try to convince Koeman that he has a place in his Barcelona team. His future is very much in the air but he could very well stay given the club are getting rid of some veterans and may feel that Coutinho could still offer something on the pitch.

He and Dembélé are getting a second chance so to speak. All they can do now is try to prepare for next season while trying not to get too distracted by what is happening outside the club. In Dembélé’s case, the talent is there. It’s only a matter of staying healthy.