No starts or goals in a month – Why Barcelona need to sell Dembele this summer

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 12:24 BST
• 5 min read

Ousmane Dembele’s importance to Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona side was on show for all to see in Saturday’s La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid. 

Four the fourth, consecutive game the Barcelona manager had turned to other options in his squad and instead decided to bench the France international. 

In a match that Barcelona desperately needed a spark of inspiration to turn the title race in their favour, the experienced head coach offered Dembele just 15 minutes to prove his worth. Over the course of the last month the winger has played just 45 minutes of football for the Catalan giants. 

Indeed, despite the odd sporadic run of form in Spain this season, Dembele has once again struggled to showcase any consistent form or lasting impression that could go some way to suggesting that he was worth spending so much money on once upon a time. 

And it now seems as though the club have ran out of patience for the 23-year-old winger ahead of this summer’s transfer window. 

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It’s time for Barcelona to cut their losses with Dembele 

According to Spanish newspaper Sport, the player’s situation at Barcelona is more “uncertain than ever” with his contract set to enter its final year in just a few months. 

Indeed, with Dembele’s contract set to expire in 2022, it means the Catalan club could lose the player for free next summer and he would be able to speak to other clubs at the end of the year. 

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For Barcelona, whose finances are still far from being settled or stable, that scenario would be nothing short of a disaster. 

Despite Dembele’s ambivalent form, the young winger is still one of Barcelona’s most sellable players and should undoubtedly be front and centre of any efforts to make some serious profits from the forthcoming transfer window. 

If the French winger isn’t in Koeman’s first team plans, as currently seems to be the case, then Barcelona may need to sell Dembele before it’s too late. Especially if they can convince a club like Manchester United or Juventus to hand over a significant fee for him.