Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele is finally living up to the expectations. The ghost of his past injuries no longer haunts him, his attitude has improved, he has been harnessed better by Ronald Koeman compared to any other Barcelona coach. Dembele is enjoying life in the shining sun of Barcelona.
Dembele has 35 appearances under his belt, more than the total games he managed in the entire 2017-18 and 2019-20 season. Since arriving from Dortmund, the 23 year old has missed a total of 85 games for the Blaugrana due to injuries.
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Finally able to put the fitness worries to bed, the Frenchman is flourishing this season, scoring 9 goals and providing 4 assists. A lot of credit goes to Koeman as well for believing in Dembele and not discarding him. The 2018 French World Cup winner has now given his view on his form and revived fitness.
"“I want to give a lot to my teammates, but honestly since 2017 I was very weak. Now I have physically changed and I feel better prepared for the games,” said the Frenchman, who since arriving at Barça had suffered an ordeal with injuries.” (via Mundo Deportivo)"
Dembele was signed in a bid to replace the outgoing Neymar in the summer transfer window of 2017. During that time, the Frenchman was one of the hottest properties in world football and had was destined to become one of the world’s best players.
Ousmane Dembele has had a series of hamstring injuries since joining Barcelona
Injuries have torn him apart. Hamstring injuries were becoming Dembele’s Achilles heel and no matter how he treated it, he wasn’t able to match the fitness levels required to play the long draining football season.
On Samuel Umtiti’s recommendation, Dembele went to Qatar to get treated and recover in the Sportive Medicine and Orthopedics Aspetar in Doha which is probably the most advanced treatment centre for such injuries. Fully recovered and he joined the team again but suffered a relapse during training ruling him out again.
Dembele has now highlighted what has changed this year that is allowing himself to remain fresh and avoid any muscular problems.
"“This year is going better, I have improved a lot in Barcelona, with the physical trainers, the way of training, the way of preparing for the games, everything has changed. Now I feel good about myself, despite the fact that I have struggled with all these physical problems for 3 years. These are life experiences that must be taken with a smile.” (via Mundo Deportivo)"
Meanwhile, Barcelona impressed by a revamped and remodelled Dembele, are looking to tie him down to a new deal as his current contract expires in 2022.
Will Ousmane Dembele get even better this season for the Blaugrana?