Why Chelsea were right to avoid Dembele in January

Cameron Smith

• 1 Feb 2022 13:40 CST
• 5 min read

Ousmane Dembele was seemingly offered to every elite club in Europe across the course of January.

The Frenchman's time at Barcelona is all-but-over, and the Spanish giants were keen to offload him this window in order to erase his wages from their books ahead of his contract expiring in June 2022.

Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain were all linked at one stage or another, but a move elsewhere never materialised for Dembele, so he'll stay at Barcelona until the end of the season before becoming a free agent.

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It's quite the fall from grace for a man once so hyped up after his stellar year at Borussia Dortmund - the one that earned him a move to the Camp Nou.

At the time it seemed like a smart signing, the kind Barcelona don't typically pull off. Of course, the fee was extortionate, but Dembele was young, fresh, and supremely talented.

His spiral downwards at Barcelona has been due to a combination of issues, but the largest one has been his injury record, which is something neither the club nor player can either take the blame for or could've predicted. It's simply been misfortune.

However, despite his perennial injury woes, Dembele was still linked with the very best clubs around Europe. They all eventually passed up the opportunity of adding the Frenchman to their roster, but it says a lot about his talent, and the ability he possesses, that clubs were at least interested even when considering how often he's sidelined.

PSG seemed the most likely home for Dembele, but after they decided against a move, Chelsea and a reunion with Thomas Tuchel seemed on the cards.

The Blues' German head coach has previously said that Dembele is the most talented player he's ever worked with, and hence a rekindling of that bond would no doubt have been an attractive proposition for Tuchel.

However, Chelsea decided against moving for Dembele, despite brief glimpses that suggested they were pursuing a deal on deadline day.

The drama surrounding Barcelona and Dembele is concerning, and Chelsea opted to stay away from those treacherous waters, and not get involved. With all things considered, it was wise of the Chelsea board to distance themselves from a move, but why is that?

Injury Record

It may seem cliche with Dembele, and fairly boring now, but his lack of fitness is a huge worry for an elite side.

Barcelona paid huge money to sign him, and his injury issues have left the Blaugrana without forward depth throughout his time at the club. In fact, his injuries arguably forced the club to sign Antoine Griezmann for €120 million.

It may seem far-fetched, but Dembele's inability to string together a consistent run of games may have played a fairly large part in causing Barcelona's financial hole.

Now, the same would've been unlikely to happen at Chelsea, but it's a pattern that shows Dembele can't be relied upon. Even at the European Championships in 2021, he showed a flash of brilliance for France before suffering an injury that caused him to miss the rest of the tournament and the start of this season.

Chelsea have had first-hand experience of an injury crisis this season, and adding Dembele to the mix wouldn't have been smart.

Stacked Forward Line

Chelsea may not have the best attack in the Premier League, but it's arguably the deepest. With so many options already at Tuchel's disposal, he's leaving three or four talented attackers on the bench every game, and it comes to a point where too many cooks spoil the broth.

Of Chelsea's current attackers, only Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku have managed over 1,000 league minutes this term. Yet a further five have played more than 500. That shows how much rotation is already going on in the forward department - another option isn't needed.

Furthermore, the rotation strategy is one that's been perfected by Pep Guardiola, while Jurgen Klopp prefers a regimented front three. There's two schools of thinking, but either way Tuchel is coming third in the race with Man City and Liverpool right now.

In addition to this, signing Dembele would've disrupted the squad harmony, as the attackers would've seen their minutes drop even more to facilitate for another body in that position.

Wait Until The Summer

Chelsea can simply wait until the summer transfer window opens before moving for Dembele. If he isn't needed now, which he isn't, then it's wise to hold off.

As mentioned earlier, the squad doesn't need to be chopped and changed mid-season, and with so many other players available to Tuchel right now, Dembele wasn't needed.

In the summer, however, Chelsea may have the chance to offload one or two forward players, which would then open the door for Dembele to join.

Furthermore, moving in for him in January would've been a late rush, and there's a chance it wouldn't have been thought through correctly.

Better Options

He may have worked wonders under Tuchel before, and still be a supreme talent, but there are simply better players than Dembele who Chelsea could sign.

Leeds' Brazilian star Raphinha is one such example, who could be an option if Chelsea decide to add further reinforcements in wide positions.

Dembele is no longer the dynamic goal-scoring, creative winger he once was, but there are plenty of examples of players who do fit that description that Chelsea could swoop for.