Lionel Messi wants to see Ousmane Dembele replaced by Philippe Coutinho in Barcelona’s attack following the Blaugrana’s 2-1 shock defeat to Leganes on Wednesday.
This is according to Don Balon, who note that the Barca talisman isn’t convinced by the 21-year-old despite his excellent start to the season, and that he wants to see Coutinho start alongside him and Luis Suarez in the Blaugrana’s attack.
MORE: Lionel Messi furious with these three Barcelona stars after Blaugrana suffer shock loss to Leganes
Barca’s defeat to Leganes was definitely a shocking one, as the Spanish minnows had never beaten Barca before, and sat rooted to the bottom of the table prior to the game.
This news won’t be good to hear for Dembele, who hasn’t had the ideal start to his Barca career since his move from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
The French youngster struggled to hold down a first team place with Ernesto Valverde’s side last season, and it’s taken him until this season to really find his feet at the Nou Camp.
The winger looks more confident than ever in a Barca, however we don’t reckon he will be feeling that way for much longer after this request from Messi.
Dembele’s overall performances so far this season haven’t been world class, but the wide-man has scored important goals nonetheless.
Three of his strikes have been match-winning goals, with one of these coming against Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning of the season.
However, if Messi gets his way, we may not see Dembele getting many more chances to be the game-winner for Barca in the near future….