Dembele is Barca’s new leader?
Almost the champion of Spain, Barcelona plan to arrange a massive sale of attacking players next summer! However, this is unlikely to affect the French winger Ousmane Dembele, who was offered a new labor agreement by the Blaugrana, and the club coach Xavi Hernandez considers him untouchable.
Dembele appeared at the Camp Nou in the summer of 2017 – back then, the Catalan giants received an impressive 222 million euros for the transfer of Neymar and were soon looking for a worthy replacement for him. Being on courage, Barcelona laid out 135 million for the then Borussia Dortmund player and naively believed that the 20-year-old Dembele would become a new legend for the club. The Frenchman immediately received serious damage, and then another, and several more.
In 2017-21 it seemed that Ousmane would just work out his contract with the Blaugrana and leave the club safely, but after Xavi Hernandez came to the coaching bridge, he really blossomed. In the second round of the 2021/22 campaign, Dembele provided over 10 assists in the championship alone, and then he extended his contract for two years and stayed at the same level this season already. Which, by the way, will become golden for Barcelona.
Yes, Ousmane Dembele got his head straight and he did not ruin his career, but he is still very often disturbed by injuries, and the latter completely put him out of action for three months. Without the 26-year-old Frenchman, Barcelona still look solid enough, but they clearly lack speed and spark in attack. This is what the Catalan capital is counting on next year, and without Dembele it will be very difficult to make progress.
Xavi believes very much in the potential of the Frenchman and is ready to offer him an unconditional place on the right edge of the attack. This calls into question the stay of Raphinha and Ferran Torres in the club, but the head coach still knows better. The Barcelona leadership has already begun negotiations to extend the contract with Ousmane until 2028, who himself does not mind staying at the Camp Nou. The only obstacle is the forward's financial requirements. If they can be brought down, then the deal will be decided literally in a matter of days.
In our opinion, Dembele and Barcelona need to continue their alliance, because the club clearly lacks bright attacking players who can make a difference on the football pitch. Xavi is looking to take the Blaugranas to the next level in the coming months and Ousmane will play a key role in that.
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