Returning Barcelona star Dani Alves has issued his verdict on Ousmane Dembélé.
Dembélé has often found things difficult following his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
He is still only 24 years of age, but injuries have hampered his progress at Camp Nou.
Still, he is set to get a new contract at Barcelona ahead of his current deal expiring next summer.
The new deal has not been announced yet, but it’s expected the two parties will come to an agreement with Dembélé set to return from injury in the next week or two.
The winger missed around three months of the season before briefly returning recently only to suffer another setback.
A hamstring issue on the back of a knee operation is very common, but when Dembélé does return to full fitness, he will be desperate to kick on.
And returning Barca legend Alves is backing him to do just that.
“Dembélé is an exceptional player who needs to understand that he is Barça and to believe that he is a great player, he can do many great things here,” Alves said in his official presentation.
Alves has re-signed on a deal until the end of the season and his mentorship will be important to a number of players currently at the club.
Even if he doesn’t play – which is unlikely – Alves should prove a valuable member of the team behind the scenes, especially with the number of young players currently at the club.
