Barcelona hoped Ousmane Dembele would be their answer to Neymar leaving, but have still signed Malcom recently and that has left the Frenchman angry with the La Liga champions.
With Barcelona losing Neymar in a rather extravagant transfer saga, combined with an exorbitant fee for the Brazilian, the club was looking to bring in someone to replace him. However, once the obvious shock settled down, there were few players on the planet who could replace the 27-year-old and fill the hole of one of the most prolific trios in the world.
But Barcelona eventually settled on Ousmane Dembele, who had just finished his first season with Borussia Dortmund brilliantly. The Frenchman, in his debut European season with a top club, ended having made 49 appearances scoring 10 goals and producing a further 21 assists in all competitions. But life at Barcelona hasn’t gone according to plan with Dembele suffering multiple injuries over the last season which has hindered any progress he could have made.
Now with manager Ernesto Valverde looking to retain the title as well as challenge for the Champions League next season, he has targeted a few areas to strengthen. This includes bringing in someone to help ease the burden off Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, which is why Barcelona made an 11th-hour swoop for Roma target Malcom. The Brazilian winger who played for Bordeaux has been on the radar of a few European giants but the lure of Barcelona was too much to resist.
And now with the 21-year old’s signature, the former Borussia Dortmund star is reportedly unhappy with the La Liga giants. According to reports from the Metro and Sport, Dembele is concerned that Barcelona is spending money on players who are a direct competition for his place in the starting line-up. It further adds that the 21-year-old Frenchman is concerned that the club will make him more of a rotation player rather than a first-team star and the forward and his agent are reportedly going to hold talks with the club.
Ousmane Dembele talks heating up, this is something to keep close attention too until the window closes, current signs are positive to say the least #ThePlugAFC as said in end of Jan/early Feb this is a player we really want and are chasing #COYG #ARSENAL #Ousmane #Dembele
— ?ThePlugAFC (@ThePlugAFC) July 27, 2018
This comes just months after rumors emerged linking the World Cup winner to Arsenal. The Gunners are under new management in Unai Emery, and has already brought in Lucas Torreira, Sokratis Papastapoulos, Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichsteiner to Arsenal, the former PSG boss is interested in signing a winger.
Arsenal does have the likes of Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Emery is keen to sign an out and out winger. The Arsenal boss believes that Dembele could once again flourish under his wing and possibly recapture his pre-Barcelona form for the Gunners. And at the same time, it would add depth to Arsenal’s squad as they prepare for a rather long season.
Author’s take:
Ousmane Dembele is somebody, who under the proper guidance can flourish and become one of the best players in the world. The Frenchman not only has the talent but as he has shown recently, the desire to do so, which means it’s up to Barcelona or even Arsenal to make sure he does that.
