Dembele for Neymar?

Marcos Lopez's verdict on the move

Posted Thursday, August 03, 2017 by Marca.com

Dembele for Neymar?

There is a consensus. Ousmane Dembele will be the reply to the signing of Neymar, the No. 11 of the Blaugrana next season, if the club respect and go hand in hand with Borussia Dortmund. Both clubs have been negotiating since a long time ago because the footballer fits in, even with Neymar, but Barcelona haven't met either the transfer fee or his salary.

Borussia set a price tag of 100 million euros to begin negotiations and blocked the operation, but the departure of Neymar would give the 'green light' for Dembele to finally become a Blaugrana. Code one, maximum alert. A new war begins.

No. There is no other Neymar in the market. "O Craque" is an indisputable No. 10 so the logical process is finding a player who has the characteristics that made Neymar vital in the attacking game of the Blaugrana. His ability to overcome opponents in one on one situations from either right or left, his speed and ability to create assists. They will look for a player who defends without special privileges but with discipline, following the pattern marked by the coach.

Dembele meets that profile, and there is no other on the list. Only him.

Messi in the middle

A specialist. That's what Barcelona will sign. Dembele was the number one in the sport management's list of reinforcements, since Valverde's idea is to use the variant 4-2-3-1 with Messi in the middle and two wingers able to surpass their marker in one on one situations. Hence the reluctance with Gerard Deulofeu. The idea was to keep Neymar, bring Dembele and give Deulofeu freedom to choose. After the goodbye of Neymar, they will sign Dembele and negotiate Deulofeu's position.

The other fitting name

Dembele could likely be Kylian Mbappe. Both competed for being the revelation player of the previous Champions League campaign. Vertical moves, devils on the pitch and able to change their pace. Both showed their technical abilities in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Mbappe began to draw attention with his moves into space against Manchester City, while Dembele was the best debutant of the competition until the game between their teams which should have never been played, after the attack on Dortmund's bus. Ousmane Dembele, remember his name.