5 players Barcelona could have signed instead of Ousmane Dembele
Barcelona are likely to sell Ousmane Dembele within the next fortnight as the player's contract situation remains unresolved. The 24-year-old's current deal expires this summer and he has not put pen to paper on a new deal. The Catalans have reportedly been put off by Dembele's hefty wage demands.
Barcelona don't want to lose Ousmane Dembele on a free transfer
Barcelona have reportedly shifted their focus to recouping whatever little amount they can of that €140 million they paid Borussia Dortmund to sign Dembele in 2017. The Catalans had just offloaded Neymar Jr. for €222 million and had enough money to sign two or three world-class players.
We are all aware of what a poor job Barcelona did with respect to their recruitment in the following years. Dembele did show a lot of promise as a teenager in the 2016-17 season. He scored 10 goals and provided 21 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund that term.
But did he prove to be worth €140 million? Was it worth all the disciplinary problems, injury issues and this unsavory contract standoff? We don't think so.
On that note, let's take a look at five players the Catalans could have signed instead of Ousmane Dembele.
#5 Leroy Sane
Leroy Sane impressed Pep Guardiola immensely with his pace and technical ability in his first season at Manchester City in 2016. With Raheem Sterling being first-choice on the left-wing, Sane was often deployed on the right.
He started just 20 games in the Premier League and three in the Champions League, but amassed a total of 37 appearances across all competitions. Sane scored nine goals and provided eight assists that term.
While those numbers pale in comparison to Dembele's from the same campaign, Sane wouldn't have cost Barcelona a third of what the Frenchman did. He has also gone onto become one of the best left wingers in the world and is currently thriving at Bayern Munich.
This is how good @leroy_sane has been this season https://t.co/ylDC9qR66e
#4 Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min will probably go down in history as one of the most underrated wingers of his generation. The South Korean international has been phenomenal for Tottenham Hotspur over the past six years. Mauricio Pochettino signed him from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015 for €30 million.
He took some time to get accustomed to the pace of the Premier League. But by the 2016-17 season, Son was flying. He scored 21 goals and provided nine assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for Spurs that term.
Son was just 25 years old in the summer of 2017 and Barcelona could have tried to sign him for half the money they paid to secure Dembele's services. The only thing missing from Son's cabinet are trophies and he would have definitely helped Barcelona win a few as well.
It would have been a great signing but the Catalans lacked the vision to pull it off at the time.
Happy birthday, Son Heung-min! 🥳 🇰🇷 https://t.co/irl1M6AsYV