The case of Ousmane Dembele at Barcelona is a curious one.
When the French World Cup winner is free of injury, he is one of the Catalan club’s go-to players thanks to his speed and willingness to drive into the heart of opposition territory, often with a positive outcome.
However, there appears to have been a number of games where the wide man seems a little disinterested and hasn’t really contributed.
Furthermore, his injury record at the club is awful. According to transfermarkt, Dembele has missed 98 matches since signing from Borussia Dortmund. Equivalent to more than two full seasons in four.
To that end, it’s interesting indeed that Joan Laporta is adamant the player must be offered a new contract, detailed by Mundo Deportivo.
However, he has a month in which to sign it before the offer of it is withdrawn. Clearly the club need to be building for next season and any delays to their plans could be fatal.
The belief is that the player wishes to stay but that his agent wants to move him on. As a result, the club will target Dembele directly, putting him in an awkward position with his representative.
Overall, his time at Barca hasn’t been a success, and the club appear to be clutching at straws as to what to do next in terms of staffing.
It won’t be long before Dembele picks up another long-term injury and when that happens, Barca will be counting the cost again.
Surely, they’re better advised to cut their losses and spend widely elsewhere.