Dembele to leave Barcelona and bolster Juventus’ attack?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 19 May 2021 19:24 BST
• 6 min read

Ousmane Dembele was seen as the next big thing after his 2016/17 season with Borussia Dortmund and subsequent £121.5 million move to Barcelona, however it hasn’t quite worked out.

He has suffered 10 separate injuries at the Camp Nou, missing a total of 85 games through injury since his move to Spain; he’s been riddled with bad luck.

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When fit, he has often struggled to find form, and with the threat of another injury likely to be lurking in the back of his mind, he’s lost the edge that he had at Dortmund.

This season under Ronald Koeman, however, he has improved, scoring 10 goals and assisting four, but according to Calciomercato, Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus side are monitoring his situation at Barcelona, and with his contract due to expire in 2022, he could be available for a fraction of the price the Blaugrana paid for him.

With Dembele so injury prone, despite only missing five games through injury this campaign, it would be a risk for Juventus to sign him, but he could fix some significant holes in their side.

A lack of pace down the wings has been evident all season for the Old Lady, and with Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and even Alvaro Morata potentially leaving this summer, they need reinforcements.

Federico Chiesa has been superb for Juventus this season, with the Italian surprising many with his form after his loan move from Fiorentina, but he needs help. Dembele would provide this to some extent.

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When comparing Dembele’s statistics from this campaign to Chiesa’s, they’re fairly similar, which is a promising sign that suggests the French winger could do a successful job on the opposite flank to Chiesa for Juventus.

Ousmane Dembele vs Federico Chiesa

Now Dembele needs to improve his decision making in the final third, and his final ball sometimes lets him down, but if he can regain his confidence, he is a frightening player to face up against.

However, despite his contract expiring in 2022, Barcelona look on the up again, with a youthful squad challenging for La Liga title this season, and almost nailed on to challenge again next year, even if Lionel Messi leaves, so Dembele may opt for staying in Spain and renewing his current deal.

If Juventus want him, they will have to act fast.