Luke Chadwick warns Chelsea against signing Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele
Speaking to CaughtOffside (h/t football.london), former Manchester United player Luke Chadwick has warned Chelsea about possibly signing Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele in the January transfer window. The Frenchman has seen game time at the Nou Camp hard to come by recently and has also had to adapt to a new manager in Xavi Hernandez.
Dembele’s time at Barcelona seems to be ending after the club announced that they were looking to offload the winger before the winter transfer window’s deadline on January 31. Chelsea could be set to pounce on the player’s uncertain situation in Catalonia and bring him to west London.
However, Chadwick has warned the Blues about the dangers of snapping up Dembele, saying that the player would not fit in at Chelsea. He believes that the Frenchman is an ill fit for Thomas Tuchel’s system at Stamford Bridge.
“Obviously that previous relationship (with Tuchel) always helps a lot. I think in terms of the shape Chelsea play, I am not sure it would suit him. They don’t tend to play with out-and-out wingers, it is more inverted wide-men.”
Chadwick referred to Tuchel’s past relationship with Dembele at Borussia Dortmund, claiming that the familiarity between the pair will help with Chelsea’s pursuit of the winger. Tuchel and Dembele spent a year together at the Bundesliga club, before the duo went their own ways, but could now be set for a possible reunion in London.
Dembele has a track record of moving clubs often, with his stay at Barcelona being the longest in his career so far. Chadwick also called out the Frenchman’s lack of faith, saying that the winger needs to find a club where he can stay for a long time.
Despite declaring that the 24-year-old’s next move would determine his consistency, Chadwick advertised for the player to move to the Premier League, claiming that the top-flight would gain an excellent player. However, he was unsure if any club, let alone the Blues are willing to pay the winger’s high wages.
“He is a hugely exciting player when he is on form – great speed, balance, skill on the ball. But with his wage demands I would be surprised if anyone in world football gave that to him.”
Dembele is a dream transfer for many football fans, hoping that their club jumps at the chance to sign the winger if he is available on the transfer market. Given that our head coach has a prior working relationship with the player, a potential move for the World Cup winner would not be the worst idea in the world.
However, Chelsea needs to be asking themselves the same question that Chadwick has brought up. Dembele is widely regarded as one of the world’s best wingers, and his skills on the flank are formidable. Chadwick though is right in pointing out that for all the player’s abilities out wide, Tuchel has opted to play inverted forwards.
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The 24-year-old is certainly a dynamic forward, capable of playing on both flanks and with both feet. However, it could be argued that the Frenchman works best while playing out wide. It is ridiculous to think that Tuchel would change his entire team’s shape just to accommodate Dembele if Chelsea were to sign him.
What is a bigger issue than Dembele’s style of play or wages is his chequered history of injuries. Chelsea just cannot afford to take on any more injury concerns and will need players they can rely on week in, week out.
