Barcelona flop Dembele ‘back to his best’

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 17 May 2021 16:52 BST
• 3 min read

France legend Bixente Lizarazu has hailed Ousmane Dembele, saying the Barcelona winger is now back to his best.

Dembele became Barcelona’s most expensive player in history in 2017 when he was signed for a fee of up to €145 million from Borussia Dortmund.

However, his four seasons at Camp Nou have been largely miserable as he has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent form.

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The 23-year-old has improved in recent times – scoring three goals in the last month for Barcelona.

This earned him a recall to the France squad and he made his first appearance in two-and-a-half years in midweek against Ukraine.

And Dembele found the back of the net in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Kazakhstan, finishing with aplomb from an Anthony Martial pass to break the deadlock.

“He seems to be back to his best,” Lizarazu told TF1.

Dembele: Statistics in 2020/21

“This was not a guarantee after his serious injury last year. You even wondered if he was going to regain all of his athleticism. The answer is: yes he has.

“He now seems to have understood what the life of a high-level footballer should be.

“He, above all, hired a personal physical trainer to work specifically on his weaknesses, and this seems to have born fruit.”

Dembele’s career exploded in the 2016/17 season with Borussia Dortmund as he scored 10 goals in all competitions.

However, he has failed to fulfil his promise at Barcelona and there have been reports he could leave this summer.

His recent performances for club and country could convince Barca to give him another chance next season.