What will Dembele bring to Barca?

The Frenchman is well known for his blistering pace.

The French winger moves to the Camp Nou with the task of helping the Barcelona faithful forget about Neymar. The France international is renowned for his pace and dribbling ability, both of which will give Valverde another option as Barca look to step out from Real Madrid’s shadow.

At just 20 years of age, the €105m initial fee that Barcelona have paid for the Borussia Dormtund man would have seemed at the very best implausible just a few months a go, but given the state of the current market it appears to be the going rate for a pure talent such as Dembele. The youngster has blistering pace, good technical ability with both feet and vision that defies his years.

Dembele makes the move to Spain after just a year in Germany. Many critics were understandably scpetical of the then 19-year-old’s ability to cope with moving to a new country at such a young age, but Dembele allayed those fears by scoring 10 goals and laying on 22 assists for Dortmund in 49 games in all competitions.

Those numbers are all the more impressive when you consider the grace with which Dembele plays the game. His youthful exuberance and eagerness to impact the game sees him appear on the left, one the right and through the middle. This movement then helps to create spaces for his team-mates and allows Dembele to play those fames killer-passes. Given the added quality in the Barca ranks going forward, there is no reason why Dembele could not improve upon that total of 22 assists, should he make himself a regular feature in the Barca team of course.

More often than not, Dembele played off one of the wings for Dortmund often drifting inside to create space for himslef and allowing the likes of Lukasz Piszczek to overlap. It remains to be seen where Ernesto Valverde sees him fitting in, though the obvious option would be the role on the left of Barca’s front three, previously occupied by Neymar.

Earlier on Friday, Valverde told the press that he believes the player is equally as effective on the left as on the right, suggesting that his versatility may have been a factor in convincing Barca to pursue him so vigorously.

Dembele has also established himself as a key part of the French national side since making his debut last September as a 19-year-old, this move gives him the chance to really establish himself on the world stage.