Paris Saint-Germain to sign Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona – Can PSG get the best out of an underperforming player?

31.07.23 858

Ousmane Dembele is on his way to Paris Saint-Germain. The forward is expected to sign a five-year contract with the Parisians.

The transfer will take the Frenchman back to France where he started his career with Rennes. The transfer will also provide Barcelona with some financial wiggle room.

Paris Saint-Germain will hope the 26-year-old can overcome the issue that held him back at Barcelona. It is a brave transfer by Paris, who continue to overhaul their squad.

In 2017, Dembele was considered one of football’s future superstars after a mere one season and 50 matches for Borussia Dortmund.

During the 2016-17 season, Dembele scored 10 goals and assisted 22 in 50 appearances in all competitions.

The Frenchman’s output inspired Barcelona to shell out €135 million to sign him. It is a move the club now cringes over.

Dembele has struggled to live up to the price tag despite scoring 40 goals and assisting 43.

While those numbers look decent, they were accumulated in 185 appearances. Questions have been asked about Dembele’s inability to deliver in big games and to be on time for training sessions.

Early in his Barcelona career, Dembele’s poor personal choices saw him punished by the club.

A lack of consistency has also plagued Dembele in Spain. He averaged a goal in La Liga every 315 minutes.

Dembele’s potential has never been in question. Yet, it is his ability to deliver week in and week out that has been.

Dembele’s best season in front of goal came with Rennes in 2015-16. He scored 12 times in Ligue 1.

His best season in the final third since leaving Rennes was 2018-19 with Barcelona. That season saw Dembele score eight times in La Liga.

The winger’s best season creating goals was 2021-22. He bagged 13 assists for Barcelona in La Liga.

However, that figure came after two seasons in which Dembele tallied zero and three La Liga assists, respectively.

Dembele will be expected to be a major contributor right away from Paris Saint-Germain. The future of Kylian Mbappe is unknown, but Dembele could play next to the forward in Paris’ front three.

Former Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio will likely play on the opposite wing. While it is a potentially exciting attack, Asensio and Dembele have never had to be top creative players for their previous clubs.

Now, they will need to create and score goals in equal measure.

Injuries were a regular problem for Dembele at Barcelona. Whether they were due to a poor work rate, attitude, or fragile body, Dembele missed a lot of games.

Between 2017 and 2023, Dembele missed 119 matches due to injuries and illnesses. In 2022-23 alone, he missed 17 matches due to a hamstring injury. Barcelona were without the forward for most of the second half of the season.

Paris Saint-Germain are taking a bit of a gamble on Dembele. Sure, he will score some goals and tally some assists in Ligue 1. But he may not be dependable, especially if Mbappe is to go – which is unlikely.

While it seems like Paris want to get away from being the club that only signs superstars, they continue to fall into the problem of signing players managers cannot depend on.