What now for Dembele at Barcelona after Malcom's arrival?

Just when it seemed Roma were landing themselves another young winger, Barcelona swooped in at the 11th hour and stole Malcom from right under their nose. The La Liga giants confirmed his arrival on Tuesday evening, with the Brazilian youngster penning a five-year deal at Camp Nou. The former Bordeaux man had been courted by the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Bayern Munich, Inter and most recently Everton, but all missed out on the wideman to Barcelona. 

The La Liga champions have been very active in the transfer market already this summer, landing Arthur and Clement Lenglet from Gremio and Sevilla, respectively, before they confirmed Malcom’s arrival. Paulinho has returned to Guangzhou Evergrande, while Yerry Mina is set to leave to help free up a non-EU spot in the squad. Willian is also still being linked with a move to Spain as Barcelona pursue the Chelsea attacker’s signature as Barcelona undergo a revamp. 

After the January arrival of Coutinho, Barcelona’s attack has become that bit better with Malcom’s capture. The departures of Paulinho, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Deulofeu left Barcelona short of options out wide, but the pursuit of Willian and signing of Malcom has boosted Ernesto Valverde’s squad on the wing. However, while the capture of Malcom improves Barcelona, as a right winger, it remains to be seen what ahead for Ousmane Dembele. 

The Frenchman’s debut season in Barcelona was plagued by injury, which saw him make just 12 league starts. Indeed, his absence early on saw Valverde revert from a 4-3-3 setup to a 4-4-2 formation after the Blaugrana elected to make their move for Dembele 12 months earlier than they’d expected following Neymar’s record breaking move to PSG. After his fine Borussia Dortmund outings, the winger was tipped to make an immediate impact at Camp Nou and even after a season that saw him register just 931 minutes of action, Dembele still scored three and registered six assists, which was a commendable return to say the least. 

With Malcom also thriving for Bordeaux last term, scoring 12 and registering seven assists, Valverde has himself a selection headache on his hands. Dembele is better suited coming inside onto his left foot from the right flank, which is a similar approach for Malcom. Didier Deschamps started Dembele on the left in France’s 2-1 win over Australia, albeit to poor effect with the youngster earning a WhoScored rating of 6.43 before his 70th minute withdrawal. 

While it’s a role that Valverde may consider next term in order to field the two young wingers, by using either Dembele or Malcom on the left would be a tremendous waste of their talents. Granted, Dembele’s two-footedness could prove a useful weapon, but he’s far more effective on the right, and it’s the same for Malcom. It’s an issue that Valverde needs to work upon without the team becoming too unbalanced. With the full-backs also vital in creating for teammates, there is a risk that Barcelona will be left short at the back with two attacking full-backs and widemen, particularly if Valverde elects to continue with a 4-4-2 setup. 

Not only that, but with Coutinho an option in either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3, and Valverde unlikely to drop the Brazil international, he has a conundrum on his hands. Malcom and Dembele both averaged the same number of key passes (2.7) and accurate crosses per 90 (1.7) in their respective leagues last season, while Dembele outshone his new teammate in both dribbles per 90 (3.9 to 2.9) and tackles per 90 (1.0 to 0.5). 

The Frenchman, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League with Liverpool and Arsenal supposedly interested, was evidently an effective performer both with and without the ball for Barcelona last season, whereas Malcom endured blips in form that impacted Bordeaux. While Barcelona see more of the ball than their French counterparts, thus allowing Malcom to be more effective in possession, he still needs to up his game in order to succeed in Spain and iron out an inconsistencies that may hinder his development. 

Fortunately for both players, though, is that given Barcelona’s quality in depth, they aren’t going to be restricted to just 38 league games per season.They’ll strive to make inroads in both the Champions League and Copa Del Rey, so the duo will have ample playing time to showcase their talents. Given their age and scope for improvement, however, it’s key the pair are handed the opportunity to prove their worth to Barcelona or else the club run the risk of seeing one of the players become disenchanted with life at Camp Nou. 

That being said, Valverde now has at his disposal two of the finest young wide talents on the continent. Malcom should be fighting fit after a summer off football, while Dembele will be riding the crest of a wave after France’s World Cup success and it should boost the team ahead of their Supercopa de Espana meeting with Sevilla next month in the season’s curtain raiser. All in all, it’s a relatively welcome selection headache for Valvdere to have given their talent.