According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet AS, Barcelona wants to offload winger Ousmane Dembele. The report mentions that the French winger has ‘run out of credit’. The club had informed the player that the third season was going to be his last chance to sort out his injury issues, performance quality and behaviour problems. However, Dembele has continued to struggle with injuries as he went through an operation to repair a torn hamstring recently. The former Dortmund ace managed just five appearances in the La Liga this campaign.
Dembele’s tough time at Barcelona so far
It is quite clear that Barcelona wanted more from him by now after he came in for €105m in the summer of 2017. When that kind of price tag is involved, players are already under pressure to deliver quickly. However, Dembele has suffered as many as ten injuries in his short career at Barcelona so far. It is believed that by the time he recovers from his current injury, which could take six months, he would have ended up missing 514 days since moving to Barcelona.
Those are indeed staggering numbers, and it is tough to say whether Barcelona and Dembele are plain unlucky or if the Catalan side made a mistake by paying that kind of fee for an injury-prone player.
With Messi entering the final stages of his career, it was believed that Dembele would become the main man for them in a few years. However, he is fighting to be fit most of the time. Even when Dembele has been available, he has produced mixed performances. As mentioned, for that kind of price tag, Barcelona would have wanted more of a return from their player.
Right call from Barcelona?
Dembele has played 74 games for Barcelona and has contributed with 19 goals and 17 assists so far. He is still just 22, so there is enough time for him to turn around his career. However, we believe that he hasn’t shown enough in the past three years to play regularly for a club of Barcelona’s stature. His disciplinary issues can also not be ignored. Hence, Barcelona are right in deciding to move him on.
The fact that he is still 22 means Barcelona could end up recovering most of what they paid for him. If Dembele continues to struggle with injury, then his stock could continue to dive down further. So it’s like a stock market situation for Barcelona on whether to sell him now and recover most of his expense or hold on to him for possible future returns.
The Frenchman might be extraordinarily talented, but when talent doesn’t come to fruition, then there is no point of having that talent. Maybe Dembele needs to move to a club where he wouldn’t be scrutinised so heavily and where he can play his natural game. He is at his best when his team plays on the counter-attack where he gets to use his pace. However, Barcelona dominates most of their games in terms of possession, and they barely get enough space for someone like Dembele to exploit.
