Barcelona To Target Ousmane Dembele Of Stade Rennais
By Tarek Hisham
FC Barcelona are reportedly targeting 18-year-old striker Ousmane Dembele
The Blaugrana have no shortage of attacking talent at their disposal but like any other great club they are always looking to reload that arsenal. Ousmane Dembele of Stade Rennais is the next supposed target of Barcelona’s interest and the club will reportedly move for him in the summer.
Dembele is currently in his first professional season in France and is playing up to his new level of competition. The French youth international has made 20 appearances this season, 14 of them in a starting role, and has notched nine goals and three assists in all competitions. Rennes currently sit fifth in Ligue 1 and could make a strong push for third and that final Champions League place as they trail Lyon by just one point.
He is on a tremendous run of form with four goals and an assist in his last two matches including the a hat trick against Nantes on the weekend. At this point it is not a question of whether he belongs in senior matches but of how much better he can get.
The opportunity to play for Barcelona would be hard for any up and coming youngster to pass up but the question remains of just how much he would play. Barca possess the most potent attacking trio in football history but also have talented youngsters in Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez contributing on the pitch.
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Sandro and Munir are both 20-years-old and figure to be in the long-term plans of the club as they ponder a future without Lionel Messi. The short answer to the question of whether Dembele would play or not is yes.
With Barcelona looking like favorites to repeat in the Champions League and their tendency to make deep runs in all competitions, there will be plenty of matches for everyone to play in next season if he were to move. Of course he would not be starting every match or even close to it, but he will be exposed to some world class footballers to learn from.
The decision of whether to move or not comes down to the age-old question of whether young players benefit more from playing a lot in a bad team versus playing sparingly in a good or great one. In Ousmane Dembele’s case, however he feels about this is what will determine his future.
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Rennes could simply cash in on him but at this point his value will only increase if he continues to improve. Dembele is under contract until the end of the 2017-18 season so one more year of excellent play would only benefit him and his club all the more as it will drive up his value.