There’s no doubting that when Ousmane Dembele is free of injury, he is one of the most dangerous attackers in European football.
In full flight he is like a gazelle, gracefully easing past opponents who are left in his slipstream.
The issue for Barcelona is that those moments are few and far between, and have been ever since his arrival as Neymar’s supposed replacement back in 2017.
According to AS, new Barca coach, Xavi Hernandez, sees the Frenchman as a cornerstone of his new project.
It’s perhaps that confidence as well as a change of medical personnel which could revive Dembele’s fortunes.
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With his contract running out next summer, the wide man is free to talk to other clubs from January 1.
Between now and then, as long as Dembele recovers his fitness, Xavi will surely hope to bring the best out of him and persuade him, via his own actions as manager, that staying at the Camp Nou is his best option.
That will require a new deal to be signed quickly, and should that not happen, then maybe it will be time for the club to cut their losses on a player who has never scaled the heights despite such promise.