When Ronald Koeman was appointed as the manager of his former club, he made sure that he would implement a lot of changes. He let a lot of players go and one of the players whom he tried to offload during the summer transfer window was Ousmane Dembele. The French winger was deemed to be surplus and the Dutch manager even told the player that he had no plans to play Dembele as he put the player as his fourth choice winger.
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Koeman tried to replace Ousmane Dembele with Memphis Depay but the French winger was adamant and refused to leave the club. Since then, Dembele has actually improved a lot and due to the lack of injury this season, he has been able to perform consistently. He has already made 26 appearances in all competitions and has scored six goals as well, while also providing four assists. Dembele himself admitted that he had to change everything about his game to continue playing for Barcelona.
Ousmane Dembele has improved a ton.
In an interview with UEFA.com, the 23-year-old talked about the adjustments he had to make for the club and also the impact that Lionel Messi had on his professional career. He said in the interview,
"“Physically, when I got to the club I was very fragile. When I was at Borussia and Nantes I was fragile. Here I have evolved a lot with the physios and fitness coaches. My way of preparing myself for games, everything has changed.”Source Sport"
He went on to say that his game style also changed as before he used to just dribble with the ball without looking at his surroundings. The coaches helped him change this habit of his and now he tends to give more passes when he sees an opening.
"“I like to dribble and go in attack by myself. They tell me to relax, wait for team-mates and not try to dribble past three or four players.”"
He also mentioned that the team was happy under the management of Koeman and that everyone’s spirits were high in the training field. Ousmane Dembele is happy with the training and believes that the club can go on to win many trophies if they continue like this. Finally he talked about Lionel Messi. He claimed that the Argentine was his idol and playing with him is a big honor for him. He said,
"“I’ve been a Barca supporter since I was a kid and to play at this club with the best player in the world is exceptional because to play with him is easy.”"
Should Dembele be considered as a regular for Barca?