Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele will be available for a cut-price £37 million when the transfer window opens.
This is if reports by Sport are to be believed.
Caught Offside report that Arsenal or Manchester United may look to sign the Frenchman on the cheap.
However, if the believed fee is accurate, a whole host of Europe’s elite may look to take a gamble on the 23-year-old.
If a move does happen, Barca look set to lose over £75 million on the player.
Transfer Flop
It is safe to say that Dembele has been a very unsuccessful signing for Blaugrana.
He cost £112.50 million to sign from Borussia Dortmund, a substantial fee for a 20-year-old. Dembele became the second most expensive player of all time after Neymar left Barca for PSG that same summer.
It was a gamble that seemed likely to work out.
Dembele was only 19 for the majority of the 2016/17 campaign. It was his first season in Germany after signing from Stade Rennais.
He scored six goals and got 12 assists, which was a remarkable return for someone so young. He was tipped for superstardom.
Barca wasted little time in signing their Neymar replacement. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan at Camp Nou.
This lack of success has largely been due to his injury record.
Across three seasons, Dembele has only made 74 appearances. He has missed many large spells with a variety of major and minor injuries. These have predominantly been to his hamstrings, according to Transfermarkt.
He is currently expected to be out until August, after suffering a ruptured tendon in his hamstring during recovery.
So misfortune has been a common theme of Dembele’s time in Spain.
There have also been some cases of ill-discipline however, with Marca reporting his constant lateness. This may come into consideration by certain managers looking at the player.
Where to?
As well as Arsenal and Man United, Juventus and Liverpool have been linked in the past.
However, the Reds seem unlikely to move for him, as if Jurgen Klopp moves for anyone this summer, it will be Timo Werner.
Juventus may look to include him in a swap deal for Barca-linked Miralem Pjanic.
Man United might see him as a cheaper Jadon Sancho alternative, while Arsenal may swoop if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moves on.
There is no doubting Dembele’s quality.
When he has played for Barca, he has been very good.
He played more games in 2018/19 than any other season at the Camp Nou, with 29 appearances. Despite being in and out of the team, he racked up 13 goal contributions.
If a team is willing to gamble on him putting his injuries and his personal issues behind him, Ousmane Dembele may be the bargain of the year.
