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What’s Next For Barcelona? 6 Potential Neymar Replacements

By Tom Bogert

MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 01: Antoine Griezmann (R) of Atletico de Madrid competes for the ball with Gerard Pique (L) of FC Barcelona during the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio Vicente Calderon on February 1, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 01: Antoine Griezmann (R) of Atletico de Madrid competes for the ball with Gerard Pique (L) of FC Barcelona during the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio Vicente Calderon on February 1, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /
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Dembele Barcelona
MADRID, SPAIN – DECEMBER 07: Ousmane Dembele of Borussia Dortmund reacts to missing a chance during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabeu on December 7, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

Ousmane Dembele

Fun fact: if you type “Ousmane” into Google, the first suggestion will be “Ousmane Dembele”. Second? “Ousmane Dembele Barcelona”.

Dembele scored six goals and had 12 assists in just 20 starts in the league last season at Dortmund, contributing to a goal once every 113 minutes. In the Champions League, he had two goals and six assists, contributing to a goal once every 96 minutes.

Reminder: he only turned 20 years old in May. That return is fantastic for anyone, let alone a teenager at the time. Being so young and productive already, Dortmund would likely command a fee in the triple digits from Barcelona for the French winger.

Dortmund have an abundance of wingers, plus the ability to poach from the next tier of clubs, but losing Dembele would be far from ideal. With Christian Pulisic, they have two of the hottest young wingers in the world and a track record for incubating young talent.

As a natural winger, he’d be a like-for-like replacement for Neymar unlike Mbappe, Dybala or Griezmann. He’s not proven for as long as Hazard is, but offers the return on a potential purchase possibility for more than a decade.

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