In football, player transfers and their dynamics are a common phenomenon. Some are cheap, some are expensive. Some shine, some fail miserably. If it’s cheap, even free, but a huge success, most people will immediately call it one of the best transfers. Likewise if the price is expensive but is able to score many achievements, or at least the hobby is scoring goals in important matches, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Real Madrid’s two most expensive transfers.
However, when the transfer brings together a talented but problematic player, a high price, and a club that is mismanaged, a sequel to the problem is waiting in plain sight. Such was the case with Ousmane Dembele’s progress at Barcelona.
The player who emerged almost at the same time as Kylian Mbappe originally came with great hopes. Barca were even willing to spend a total of 135 million euros and ignore the opportunity to bring in Kylian Mbappe from AS Monaco.
Understandably, he came after shining at Rennes and Borussia Dortmund. His arrival at the Nou Camp was in sequence with Neymar’s departure to PSG. In other words, Dembele was plotted as a replacement for the Brasilero.
If you look at his talent, this Malian-blooded player does have quite a lot of potential. Unfortunately, this great talent is even offset by an indiscipline record, which is slowly undermining his fitness. Indeed, this Rennes academy graduate took part when the French national team won the 2018 World Cup and reached the 2022 World Cup final, but his contribution was fairly ordinary.
In fact, coach Didier Deschamps withdrew him in the first half, during the 2022 World Cup final, for having a poor performance and a foul leading to the opening goal for Argentina. At Barcelona, Dembele’s playing opportunities were also limited due to several muscle and knee injuries, ranging from mild to severe. Each season, this French national team player has an average of at least three months in the rehabilitation room to recover from injuries.
Transfermarkt noted, the only season when he was not seriously injured came in the 2020-2021 season, with him “only” out of action for 24 days. With such an injury record and his performance that tends to be inconsistent, it’s only natural that Dembele is one of Barcelona’s worst transfers, as well as depicting the chaos in the era of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s leadership.
An era where the Blaugrana bought too many cats in sacks, and recently it actually brought the club into financial difficulties. Then, when PSG paid 50 million euros to meet his release clause, it was not surprising at all. His injury history and one-year contract have made the player’s market value plummet.
Plus, Azulgrana is not the typical team that usually sells profits in the transfer market. In many cases, they often sell at a loss, because they depend a lot on the commercial sector. Uniquely, Dembele will be plotted by PSG as a replacement for Mbappe who is currently frozen. This is where the situation gets more interesting.
If Dembele can perform well and be fit in Paris, then Barca will lose even more, because the player turns out to be better than what has been shown so far. If it turns out that the situation is the same at the Parc Des Princes, we can conclude that Ousmane Dembele has really stuck there.
How will Dembele progress at PSG later? It will be interesting to know how he will perform and support his teammates in Barcelona this season in La Liga. Will he be able to contribute much to the overall team performance and bring Barcelona to top position? Let’s wait and see.
ASL
