Robert Lewandowski has hailed Liverpool and Newcastle United target Ousmane Dembele as the Barcelona player who has ‘surprised’ him the most. He is in utter awe of the winger.
The 25-year-old blew Lewandowski away from his first training session with Dembele after moving to Camp Nou last summer. He could not believe how talented the Frenchman was with the ball at his feet. And playing beside the forward has only reinforced his admiration.
Lewandowski is confident that were it not for the injuries Dembele has suffered during his career, the forward would be the best player in the world in that position. The way the 35-cap dynamo carries the ball stuns the Poland icon, who feels he can always create chances.
Ousmane Dembele has left Robert Lewandowski in utter awe at Barcelona
Barcelona added Lewandowski to their attack last July after agreeing to a £42.5m transfer with Bayern Munich. The 34-year-old has since played 22 games beside Dembele, with the pair combining for five goals. Dembele has assisted Lewandowski for three of those goals.
Their combination has also helped Dembele score eight and assist seven goals through 28 games in all competitions this season. But a rectus femoris injury has sidelined the winger since January. The wound is also taking longer to heel than Barcelona initially anticipated.
Despite Dembele’s frustrating injury, Liverpool and Newcastle are already looking ahead to the summer in view of targeting his transfer from Barcelona. Calciomercato.it has reported the Reds and Toon are exploring deals with the forward’s release clause set to be cheaper.
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Barcelona and Dembele agreed on a €100m (£88.5m) clause to sign a new contract in July, per Mundo Deportivo. But it drops to €50m (£44m) this August when the 2018 World Cup winner will have a year on his deal. But Sport reports they plan to debate new terms soon.
Liverpool and Newcastle target Ousmane Dembele in a cut-price summer transfer
Dembele knows that Barcelona count on him and want to renew his contract, which could dent Liverpool and Newcastle’s hopes of targeting his transfer. The Blaugrana also intend to ward off any interest with Paris Saint-Germain also now monitoring his potential availability.
Liverpool, Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain are considering targeting Dembele in a cut-price transfer given the forward’s ability on the ball at Barcelona that stuns Lewandowski.
“He is the guy who from the first training session at Barcelona, I was very surprised [by],” Lewandowski told ESPN. “Positively surprised by how [much] talent [he has] and how good he is, how fast his feet are.
“For me, he is really the guy who can be the top of the top in his position. He is already but sometimes injuries [can get in the way like this January] he got an injury. But if he’s on the pitch, he can always do something with the ball.
“He can dribble so easy, so fast, like natural, pure talent. And this dribbling, if you see how he does it, how is it possible to be so fast? And you see that from the first training.”
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