How close were Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal to signing Dembele in January?

Cameron Smith

31 Jan 2022 23:30 GMT
4 min read

The only satisfied party from Ousmane Dembele's move to Barcelona has been Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga side turned a huge profit on the Frenchman after just one year in Germany, but since leaving the Signal Iduna Park, things haven't fared well for Dembele.

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His injury record has been patchy, and a lack of consistent minutes has seriously hampered the progress of such a prodigious talent.

Dembele's 2020/21 season looked as though he'd turned a corner, with the Frenchman making 30 appearances in the league, scoring six goals and assisting three.

But, he's played just six games in La Liga this campaign, failing to score, while assisting two.

With his contract at the Camp Nou expiring in 2022, negotiations over a new deal spluttered and jolted forward before they came to a standstill at the turn of the year. The public falling out between the player and the club meant Dembele was available on the market, with Barcelona keen to cash in on a player who will now leave for free this summer.

There was strong interest from the Premier League and Paris Saint-Germain, but how close was Dembele to actually leaving Barcelona in January?

To Chelsea

Perhaps the biggest rumour was linking Dembele to Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel coached Dembele at Borussia Dortmund, and even named him the most talented player he's ever worked with.

So, links were inevitable, especially given the woes of Chelsea's attackers. But, the plethora of options to Tuchel meant a move for Dembele was always going to be unlikely. Although the forwards at Stamford Bridge haven't been as successful signings as Tuchel and the Chelsea board would've hoped, a move for Dembele never seemed like it would happen.

The wage bill at Chelsea is already inflated and adding Dembele's large wages into the equation wouldn't have worked. Furthermore, a move was far more likely to occur in the summer anyway, when Chelsea may offload one or two forwards.

To Manchester United

Links with Dembele to Man Utd always seemed foolish. The Old Trafford outfit splashed the cash on Jadon Sancho last summer, and he hasn't been a guaranteed starter at the club. Add another winger into the mix, and it'll be like accepting defeat with Sancho. Dembele's strengths come in progressive the ball up the pitch, but he lacks defensive work rate, which is something Ralf Rangnick demands.

Now, he worked under Tuchel, so it's not a huge issue, but it's certainly a clash of styles. In addition to this, the club weren't even interested in pursuing a deal according to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.

To Arsenal

With Mikel Arteta promoting youth and homegrown talent at Arsenal, Dembele wouldn't fit in, and while he could add real star quality to the team, it would be a risky move.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's high wages has hampered Arsenal massively, and Dembele would've done the same. Furthermore, the club weren't interested in a swap deal with Dembele and Aubameyang.