sport news Chelsea believe they can get the best from Ousmane Dembele but doubts remain - ... trends now
Chelsea will be getting LaLiga's top assist provider if they sign France winger Ousmane Dembele this summer, and coach Thomas Tuchel will be reunited with a player he got the best out of in their brief time working together.
Dortmund were a thing to behold in the 2016 season with Dembele and current Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic both outstanding, managing nine goals between them and helping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to 31 goals as Bundesliga top scorer.
Tuchel left the club that summer and Dembele followed suit, later saying that Tuchel had been his favourite coach and that he would never have left had the manager stayed.
Tuchel seems convinced that he can get the best out of Dembele once more and new owner Todd Boehly wants some bold signings this summer. Bringing in the player who was the second most expensive signing in Barcelona's history would be one such statement, although not everyone at Chelsea is convinced.
Chelsea are exploring the possibility of signing Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele (above)
The French star is out of contract this summer, meaning the Blues could sign him for nothing
The talent is obvious but the shortage of other serious suitors is ringing some alarm bells and the fact that the 25-year-old has tended not to end things on very amicable terms with his clubs is another.
Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester United have all stayed away from the French international who has been free to talk to other clubs for the last five months. But the positives are huge.
He has two things no coach can give a player: pace to burn and a two-footedness that leaves him unsure of which foot to use to take penalties when he has to, and leaves defenders clueless as to which way he will go. He is also tactically switched on. He would never have thrived under Tuchel were that not true.
Xavi would also have been far less keen on keeping him. Were it not for the Barcelona coach, Dembele might not have played again for Barcelona after he turned down the club's new contract offer in the last window.
Xavi insisted he be allowed to use a player who ended up weighing in with 13 assists, 11 of those coming after Xavi had fought successfully to get him back in the team.
Accusations of attitude problems have dogged him during his time at the club but they often had more to do with certain agendas being played out in the local media close to the club than to real problems.
There were times when it suited some that he was depicted as an airhead who turns up late for training and sat around eating pizza and playing video games
