Subscribe
Follow Us
When Barcelona invested €145 million in Ousmane Dembele in 2017, there were some doubters. He had a ton of potential, but the price was way too high and Dembele had Neymar's shoes to fill, as he moved on to PSG. Five years later, the doubters were right. Dembele has been permanently injured and managed only 139 apps for Barcelona in all competitions. As his contract is up this summer and he is only 24, many teams will want to add a talent like that for free. Thus, we look at the three best destinations for Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele.
Best Ousmane Dembele destinations
PSG
In a similar situation five years on, Ousmane Dembele might be asked to fill Neymar's position once again, this time in a different context. As reports from early March suggested that the owners of PSG want to sell Neymar, Dembele might be a great solution for them. Under Xavi, Dembele has reinvigorated his career and started playing regular football, making 12 appearances this season and bagging nine assists, including two assists versus Real Madrid in the 0-4 El Clasico trashing. These could be good signs for any club that is willing to take Dembele on and PSG has been the first one linked to the French winger. They might be famous for huge money moves, but getting someone on a free transfer is also an option for the French club.
Even if Neymar stays past this season, they still have a Kylian Mbappe hole to cover. Mbappe is still technically a PSG player, but as time goes on, it is looking certain that he is moving on to Real Madrid. While he is a striker primarily, Ousmane Dembele can replace him by getting on the right, Neymar remaining on the left, and pushing Messi either in a number ten role with Mauro Icardi leading the attack or putting Messi in the false nine role. Dembele is similar to Mbappe in some regard, as a pacey winger that can dominate the game on his day. Even though his French compatriot is a much better footballer, Dembele can still do the job that PSG ownership and fans demand of him.
Chelsea
Article Continues Below
Dembele has one huge link with Chelsea that might push them over the edge to get the French winger – Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel is likely to remain Chelsea coach, as he has himself said, so he will be there when the Dembele sweepstakes open up. Tuchel was the coach in Dortmund when Dembele was really playing at the top of his football. Now, there can be many factors that make or break a player, so poor coaching in Barcelona might be a reason why he was unable to channel his best football in Spain, together with the injury issues. With Tuchel to give him guidance, Ousmane Dembele might be able to reach close to the level he had at BVB.
Although Chelsea has a ton of options on both wings, they could be interested in such a quality player without any fees attached, especially as the club is going through a period of financial uncertainty. This Chelsea team is full of wingers and is severely lacking in attacking threats, due to poor campaigns by both Werner and Lukaku. However, firepower is a good thing and you can really never have too much of it, so Dembele might be an option to go for when Chelsea make their moves in the summer.
In a rather surprising move, we could possibly see Dembele move to Italy. Due to his stature and injury issues, playing in a physical league like the EPL would likely be the end of his career as we know it. Spain does not have many other options, barring a surprising move to Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid. In Germany, the only club that can realistically pay for him is Bayern Munich, and they do not need a winger, while France is covered by PSG. Thus, Italy remains and while it is also somewhat physical, it is also a chance for Dembele to revive his career at Inter, a place that already revived some careers in the past few years.
Romelu Lukaku arrived at Inter after a poor two-season stint in Manchester United and became top goalscorer and MVP of the Serie A. Edin Dzeko had two poor years at Roma but has been great for the Inter side challenging the title. Thus, we could see Dembele also choosing to go to Italy, to Inter Milan, to completely regain his confidence and try to become the player everyone hoped he would be. His pace and crossing ability would be great with Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez in the middle, and with smart financial management done by Inter in the past, they could likely afford his wages and complete this move to bolster their squad for a bigger splash in the Champions League and a guaranteed fight for a title in Italy.
