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Transfers
Could Manchester City swoop in for Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele?
According to reports coming from France yesterday evening, Manchester City could be set to make an audacious move to steal Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele from under Barcelona’s noses.
have alleged that the 20-year-old winger arrived in Manchester yesterday to have dinner with manager Pep Guardiola, talking over a proposed move to England for the upcoming season.
This news comes less than a week after Spanish outlet had claimed that Barcelona were preparing a £61.6 million offer for the exciting Frenchman – but Guardiola is now in the driving seat.
Would Dembele be a useful addition at the Etihad?
One of the hottest prospects in Europe at the moment, Dembele has burst on to the scene at Borussia Dortmund this year and made the footballing world sit up and take notice of his ability.
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The 20-year-old played a huge role in a youthful Dortmund outfit last season, making 32 Bundesliga appearances and featuring in all ten of their Champions League matches.
Eight goals across 36 matches – six in the Bundesliga and two in Europe – doesn’t do the youngster justice after a string of exceptional performances, and at only 20-years-old he’s got bags of potential.
Generally deployed in a front three, Dembele operates best in a wide position – such as Guardiola’s customary formation last season – and not many players around can rival how quick he is with his feet when facing a defender, possessing the natural dribbling ability to get out of any tricky scenario.
For a 20-year-old his maturity is also far ahead of what it should be; whereas Leroy Sane is still lacking a clinical edge in the final third at times and often tries one dribble too many, Dembele has the prowess to know when to release the ball – as a tally of 18 assists suggests across his 42 matches.
His turn of speed and acceleration would prove to be a potent asset up against the very best defenders in the Premier League, and he has developed an extremely innovative edge to his play over the last year.
Is a move to the Premier League likely?
Now established as a first-team regular, and playing guaranteed Champions League football, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious reason as to why he would want to leave Borussia Dortmund so soon.
And reports from German news outlet in recent weeks have addressed the youngster’s short-term future, with Dortmund’s director Michael Zorc quoted as saying:
“Ousmane Dembele has a long-term contract – we are planning on it.
“There are no negotiations. Dembele will also play for BVB in the coming season.
“If Dortmund is not contacted [by interested clubs], we could initiate a Fifa procedure.”
It therefore seems incredibly unlikely that the Bundesliga side would be swayed by any amount of money that Pep Guardiola has to offer, so expect to see Dembele in a Dortmund shirt next season.