Will Ousmane Dembele be the answer to Manchester United’s problems?

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On August 25, 2017, Barcelona announced they had signed Borussia Dortmund winger, Ousmane Dembele from German side, Borussia Dortmund for an initial £96.8 million, rising to a mammoth £135.5 million.

This was in response to their selling of, against their will, Brazilian superstar, Neymar, who had signed for Paris Saint-Germain for a world record-breaking £200 million.




However, despite the mouth-watering sum Barcelona paid for Dembele, he only played 23 times for the club in 2017-18, mainly due to injury.

By all accounts, Barcelona are happy to sell and Arsenal were thought to be his most likely suitors, however, United’s lack of success in the summer transfer market has seen their name linked with the young winger.

For the entirety of the summer transfer window, Jose Mourinho has been yearning for the Manchester United board to secure a right-sided midfielder to add to his squad.

The man they have been linked to most frequently is Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder, Willian. However, Dembele would represent a considerably younger alternative.

It was during summer 2016, that Mourinho publically coveted Inter Milan winger, Ivan Perisic, who then enjoyed a stunning season for Inter in 2017/18 and during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The problem on the right persists.

United struggled to keep up with Premier League pacesetters, and eventual champions, Manchester City, last season and one of the key reasons was their lack of a natural right-sided midfielder who could provide goal-scoring chances from the right side of midfield.




Mourinho tried to find the solution to the right-sided problem within his own squad, but all of his midfielders, such as January signing Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata were all more effective on the left or through the centre.

It meant in attack, United only threatened through the left and the centre, hampering striker Romelu Lukaku who could have been even more destructive and scored many more than the 27 goals he netted, had he had service from the right as well.

This is where Dembele could fit in. A natural on the right wing, the 21-year-old has the pace, guile and skill to make the most of one-on-one situations, is an excellent dribbler and links defence and attack in exactly the way Mourinho yearns for from his attacking players.

Most notably, Dembele, although naturally gifted on the right, can be equally effective on the left, boasting considerable skill cutting in onto his right foot. It is a flexibility that appeals to a coach like Mourinho and a reason why Dembele would be of greater value to United then current incumbents, such as Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Should United make the move for the Barcelona man, it would likely be funded by the sale of Martial, who would be surplus to requirements. This is a further reason why this deal should happen. As well as providing the balance so desperately needed in United’s attack, it would cost next to nothing if funded by Martial’s sale and would relieve the club of a player who wishes to be elsewhere.

United and Dembele would surely be a match made in heaven.