Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is tipping Arsenal and Liverpool transfer target Ousmane Dembele to fulfill his potential at Camp Nou despite January exit talks.
According to UK Metro, the 21-year-old Dembele has been repeatedly fined for indiscipline at the La Liga giants after arriving late to the team's training session, and also had a mobile phone ban slammed on him by Erenesto Valverde at the start of December.
Interestingly, the Frenchman who broke into the scene while at Borussia Dortmund, was largely an unknown figure 24 months ago at Rennes before he was spotted by Sven Mislintat Arsenal's head of recruitment.
The Frenchman eventually dumped the Bundesliga side for Barcelona in stunning €105m deal last summer but off-field issues has hindered his progress at Camp Nou.
Premier League pair Arsenal and Liverpool are repeatedly linked with Dembele, who was in excellent form for Barcelona against Tottenham in the Champions League, scoring a classy goal during their recent 1-1 draw
Speaking about Dembele's potential at Barca as winter transfer talks continue, Messi told Spanish news channel, Marca that the Frenchman has what it takes to be a top player at Barcelona.
"On the pitch he is a phenomenon and it depends on him, he has all the opportunity in the world to do what he wants.
"He can be one of the best. On the other hand, he's a young guy who is adapting to the city and the club.
"The less you speak about it, the better. It's necessary to leave him so he can be calm. He has already realised his mistakes and has rectified them. We are going to help him focus on football," Messi summed up.
Comments