The adaptation of Ousmane Dembélé from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain has been a topic of conversation. Furthermore, there have been jokes calling the 26-year-old 007 for his lack of production early on this 2023-24 season.
However, the Frenchman appears to be turning the corner. It all began in the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund last week. While he didn’t score or register an assist, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner was named to CBS Sports’ Team of the Week.
That performance against the German club laid the positive groundwork that led to Dembélé’s first assist with PSG. The former Barcelona star fired off a cross into the box, leading to a goal from Gonçalo Ramos.
Diario AS reporter Andrés Onrubia writes that the winger’s performance in the 4-0 win over Olympique de Marseille was a positive sign.
“With the injury to Kylian Mbappé, suffered during the game, Dembélé took on an important role in attack, forming a pair on the wing with Achraf that provided depth and verticality to the Parisian attack,” Onrubia wrote.
“In the second half, just after leaving the dressing room tunnel, he set up Gonçalo Ramos with his right foot, showing that his talent is still there, despite it not always being on show.”
Kylian Mbappé was forced off injured after 32 minutes of Le Classique:
◉ Gonçalo Ramos: ⚽️⚽️
◉ Ousmane Dembélé: 🅰️
◉ Randal Kolo Muani: ⚽️🅰️PSG's new front three stepped up in the 4-0 win. 😤 pic.twitter.com/UPU6fkS1cx
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) September 24, 2023
Furthermore, Onrubia notes that Dembélé hasn’t fully transitioned to PSG but is impacting matches so far.
“Dembélé, who signed for PSG for €50 million from Xavi’s Barcelona, has not finished adapting to Paris, despite the fact that in all the games his quality has shown at some point during the games,” Onrubia adds.
“His typical ability to deceive with his dribbling, the finesse in each touch and the speed from a standing start have all dazzled Luis Enrique, who has not hesitated to instill in him a large percentage of responsibility in attack.”
Dembélé is responsible for replacing Neymar as the No. 10 and he’s showing flashes that he’s more than up for the task.