The rollercoaster named Ousmane Dembele’s renewal saga has taken yet another turn as AS reports that the Frenchman’s future is open once again. The player was seemingly close to renewing with the club a few days ago, but will likely not now....CONTINUE READING
However, this time the doubt comes from within the club as they want to prioritise the signing of Raphinha over his renewal. Signing the Brazilian and also renewing Dembele could cause problems with the financial fair play.
With Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres on the left-wing, the right is remain unfulfilled. As such, signing Raphinha becomes as important as Robert Lewandowski or Jules Kounde for Barcelona.
In fact, the report states that Barca are willing to close the signing of Raphinha before activating the second economic lever so the player can accompany the team to the USA for pre-season.
The club also believes that Dembele’s relationship with the fanbase is primarily toxic and that his behaviour off the pitch has been unprofessional in the past.
Verdict
First thing out of the way, next season will be extremely tiring for footballers, given the back and forth they’ll have to do between club football and the World Cup. Having depth is intelligent, even if it means that not every player gets enough minutes.
Having said that, given Dembele’s versatility, both him and Raphinha could easily fit into the same starting lineup. Given their ball retention or the lack thereof should they though, is a different question.
If Barcelona had to choose one, it makes sense to go for Raphinha. He will sign on lower wages than what the club has offered to Dembele and has nearly publicly been clear about wanting to play for the Blaugranas.
Both had similar numbers. Raphinha scored 11 and assisted three, while Dembele scored one and assisted 13. Notably though, the latter did it in 21 games compared to the former’s 35.
But to be fair to the Brazilian, he did it while playing for Leeds United, whose finishing nightmare was the highlight of their season.
