Manchester United have made initial contact with Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele with the hope of bringing him to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils started the new Premier League season strongly winning four and drawing one of their first five games. But they lost to Young Boys in the UCL and were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by West Ham United in the midweek. They were looking to bounce back to winning ways against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Saturday but ended up falling to a shock 0-1 defeat.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has overseen the club spend 145 million euros this summer, with high-profile players such as Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo arriving at Old Trafford. And it is believed the Mancunian club will continue spending in the next transfer windows should they achieve some financial stability after being hit by Covid-19 like every other club.
According to Spanish news outlet El Nacional, Manchester United have spoken to Ousmane Dembele’s entourage of late, intending to start negotiating his future.
Dembele, 24, has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations of the Camp Nou faithful—majorly due to injuries—since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017. The 24-year-old wide-man has entered the final year of his contract and he will be free to leave for nothing – although Dembele’s team did meet Barcelona before the recent game against Granada to begin talks over his contract renewal.
Regardless of contract extension talks being held between Dembele’s entourage and the Catalan club, the report adds that the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-managed club are looking to bring him to Manchester on a free transfer in June.
Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United—Does a move for the Frenchman make sense?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bolstered his attacking options over the summer transfer window by signing Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo from Borussia Dortmund and Juventus respectively. While Sancho is yet to find his feet at the new club, Ronaldo has hit the ground running with four goals in four games across all competitions.
However, the midweek Carabao Cup elimination at the hands of West Ham and yesterday’s loss to Aston Villa highlighted the weak spots still present in the squad. Anthony Martial, who has fallen down the attacking pecking order following the signings of Ronaldo and Sancho, failed to make the most of his opportunity against the Hammers.
It is believed United would be open to listen to offers for Martial in January, with the club demanding around £40m for the France international. Marcus Rashford continues his recovery from a shoulder injury and will not be rushed by Solskjaer while Edinson Cavani is likely to leave at the end of the season once his deal expires.
To put things into perspective, it does make sense for Solskjaer to target an attacking player next summer in light of Martial’s uncertain future and Cavani’s potential departure, but he should avoid signing Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona.
A spate of injuries combined with a lack of consistency means Dembele has managed to only show flashes of his potential in his four-year stay at Barcelona until now. He is yet to feature for Barcelona this season due to a hamstring injury suffered in Euro 2020.
First and foremost, Dembele’s injury record is a big problem and doesn’t fill one with a lot of hope. In England, he could struggle to cope with the highly competitive atmosphere and the physicality of Premier League football. The ex-Dortmund star, despite his age and quality plus him being a potentially cost-effective option next year, just doesn’t strike the right chords from United’s perspective.
Solskjaer has a plethora of attacking options at his disposal and if he really intends to sign one, he should go for another player. All in all, the Red Devils would be better off dropping their interest in Ousmane Dembele, even if the transfer involves bringing him in on a potential free transfer next summer.
