Barca’s big August signing looks hungry
LONDON: When Ousmane Dembele arrived in August it was for a huge fee and with great expectations. He has made a nervous start but it seems he is finally finding his feet, and just in time for the visit from Chelsea.
Barcelona host Chelsea in their Champions League last 16 second leg tonight with the feeling that their big August signing has finally found his form.
Winger Ousmane Dembele signed from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of
e105 million, but injury sidelined him for three months and when he has played he has looked nervous and out of place.
“Dembele starts to look like Dembele” said Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo on Sunday after the 20-year-old had delivered his most convincing performance since he joined the club, in the 2-0 away win over Malaga.
He set up the first goal for Luis Suarez and showed not just the electric pace that Barcelona supporters have already seen glimpses of, but also the ability to apply the brakes, look up and pick out his teammate.
The fact that Ernesto Valverde took him off before the end of the game suggested to some that he will now start the second leg against Chelsea, with the score level at 1-1.
Whether he makes the starting line-up may well depend on the fitness of Andres Iniesta.
The Spain midfielder missed the weekend win with a slight hamstring strain.
But he posted a positive message on social media on Saturday alongside a picture of himself training alone, and on Monday he trained with teammates.
Even if Iniesta starts the game and Dembele is left on the bench, there is a sense around the club that there will be no repeat of the first leg when Dembele was an unused substitute. Despite not using him at Stamford Bridge, Barcelona coach Valverde has protected the winger and defended him in press conferences.
“He needs time,” he said after Saturday’s game. “He is young and he has had a serious injury. He is under the spotlight. The good thing about him is that he always tries things. And in this game it really came off for him.
“We need him to take people on and get away from his marker. He has that impudence to his game. Sometimes it comes off for him and sometimes it doesn’t but his last performance will give him confidence.”
Back in August when Barcelona had the Neymar transfer money in their pocket ready to be spend, Valverde insisted on a player whose direct running would put rival defences on the back foot in the same way that Neymar does.
Dembele is growing into that player. There have been concerns about him settling in at Barcelona.
When he ruptured a tendon in his thigh and had to miss three months of football there were concerns that too much down time would hamper him settling in. Barcelona offered him his own personal chef so that he would stay off the fast food as he recuperated. But they knew what he really needed was the sort of confidence only good performances can give a player.
That first really good performance came in La Liga on Saturday, now he must wait to see if can produce one in the Champions League too. – dpa