PSG 'starting to worry' about 'more than DISAPPOINTING' big-money signing
Tom Weber
- Updated: 16 Sept 2023 14:12 BST
- 3 min read
Paris Saint-Germain thought they had pulled off something of a coup when they signed Ousmane Dembele, but the attacker is struggling to come to grips with life back in France.
Ousmane Dembele's odd career is continuing apace. A player who has faced intense scrutiny ever since his teenage years because of his prodigious talent, the now-26-year-old has rarely managed to meet the lofty expectations.
Barcelona annihilated their own transfer record when they bought Dembele from Dortmund for a whopping €135 million to replace Neymar in 2017, but the Frenchman's time in Spain was marred by frequent injuries. Under Xavi, the winger was given a new lease on life but he decided to burn that bridge by departing for PSG in the summer.
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Cash-strapped Barcelona were obliged to let him walk when PSG put €50m on the table due to a clause in his contract, which left Xavi bitterly disappointed. But if Dembele's start to life at PSG has shown anything, it is that the grass isn't always greener even when it's studded with Qatari diamonds.
Dembele's struggles
On Friday (September 15), PSG were beaten 3-2 by OGC Nice and Dembele once again put in a poor showing. After the match, Footmercato singled the Frenchman out for criticism and claimed that he was starting to 'worry' PSG.
"Starting for the third time in a row in Luis Enrique's 4-3-3, Ousmane Dembele had a very complicated evening during his team's defeat (2-3) against OGC Nice", the French outlet wrote. "Technically imprecise, guilty of a huge mistake and too little of an impact near the Nice penalty area..."
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The report further described Dembele as "inconsistent," "clumsy," and "lacking lucidity in the final third," while also drawing attention to the fact that this has been an issue for the entirety of this still-young season, with Dembele also struggling on international duty against Ireland.
There is still plenty of time for the talented winger to show what he's made of at PSG, but right now it is the same old story from a supremely skilled but inconsistent player.
