Barcelona will reportedly not include Ousmane Dembele in their plans for player sales as Quique Setien wants him to stay at the Nou Camp despite his injury woes.
The 22-year-old has again seen his season disrupted by injuries this year as he has been limited to just nine appearances across all competitions.
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Since his switch in 2017, he’s managed 19 goals and 17 assists in 74 appearances, as while he featured regularly last season, his debut campaign with the Catalan giants was similarly frustrating, as he has suffered countless setbacks since moving to Spain.
However, despite those concerns over his reliability and endurance moving forward, Mundo Deportivo report that Setien wants the Frenchman to stay at Barcelona and Dembele will not be included in any plans that the reigning La Liga champions have in terms of axing players from the current squad.
Time will tell if he rewards such faith from his boss, as while Dembele is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, he’ll perhaps hope to play some part in the end of the season given how it has been significantly delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With his pace, movement, creativity and goal threat, there is no doubt that Dembele is a talented player and one who is capable of offering a crucially different dynamic in the final third for Barcelona compared to the other options in attack.
Nevertheless, the club and Setien will be desperate for him to steer clear of injuries and stay fit to show his worth on a consistent basis, as ultimately as we’ve seen this season with his spell on the sidelines coinciding with a setback for Luis Suarez, it leaves Barca short of options in that department.
Based on the report above though, it sounds as though Setien has no interest in seeing him leave and wants to call upon Dembele moving forward.