It seems a lifetime ago now that the likes of Liverpool and more were looking at signing French winger, Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele was a man in demand over the summer, with Liverpool among the teams keen on him. Chelsea, too, were also thought to be keen on signing Dembele, who was demanding huge money at the time.
Of course, Dembele remained in Barcelona and his form has picked up to the point where he was a regular selection in the France XI, including this World Cup.
However, despite getting to the final and then getting the nod in said final, Dembele’s performance against Argentina – and others in this tournament – shows Liverpool might have had a lucky escape.
Dembele shows nothing
Even overlooking the fact he was taken off after just 40 minutes today, Dembele’s actual performance was bordering on criminal at times.
He was caught out when bringing Angle Di Maria down for the opening penalty. His positional play and then inability to recover showed a weakness in his game that’s been apparent in his career so far. Put simply, Dembele was just beaten by determination and class and in the end, made a rash tackle.
At the other end of the pitch, he was lax in possession and offered no threat for France. It was, then, absolutely no surprise to see him taken off before half-time by Deschamps.
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Spanish outlet Sport had claimed back in the summer that Liverpool were ready to land Dembele. But based on this performance, it’s a good job the Reds didn’t quite go for it.
Dembele has a long way to go before being considered world class. He only need look at his own teammate, Kylian Mbappe, who showed spirit, class and belief when it was needed.
And given Dembele is said to be on around £17m-a-year in Barcelona, it looks good business for Liverpool to have avoided this particular piece of business.