What should Dortmund do with Ousmane Dembélé?

FC Barcelona’s interest in Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembélé has been the talk of the football world this week. Ousmane Dembélé has been suspended by Dortmund after he skipped training. He has currently cut off contact from the German club, a move many speculate has been encouraged by Barcelona.

Dortmund doesn’t seem too willing to sell him, but we will get a more clear picture in the coming days. The decision to sell or to keep Dembélé is one of the biggest decisions in the history of the club. The rumoured amount of money is astonishing, and there are reasons for both selling and keeping him.

Keep Him:

Ousmane Dembélé is world class. No way around it. He was so important for Dortmund last season with his 12 league assists (10 to Aubameyang) and will be hard to replace. He has pace and skill that not many players on the planet have. There are not very many immediate replacements on the market.

Any other option would be a step down in all honesty. With Marco Reus out with injury, Dortmund could find themselves in a predicament on the wings without Dembélé. It could be advantageous to their ambitions for the season to hang on to him.

Borussia Dortmund is also looking to shake their image as a selling club. Dortmund is known for selling stars, like Hummels, Götze, Lewandowski, and Gündoğan. They want to turn the corner, and keep their best players around, which is quite difficult given the gap in the wages that they can pay players versus how much clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG can pay. The reputation may be accurate, but it isn’t exactly the most flattering thing.

Sell Him:

It could also be argued that Dembélé should be sold. €150M is a lot of money, and Dortmund could do quite a bit with it. That is a fee that is unheard of in the clubs history. The inflated transfer market could have a direct impact on Borussia Dortmund here.

The first issue is that Dembélé isn’t reporting to training. He has been suspended by the club. If Dembélé doesn’t want to play for Dortmund, they might as well sell him. If he is going to have attitude issues, he does no good for the club. This whole saga could be difficult for the team to move forward from. The dynamic in the locker room can’t possibly be the same.

Another argument for selling would be that the €150M would be significant enough to enable Dortmund to close the gap with Bayern and legitimately compete for the title. With Coutinho off the market, Barcelona will pay close to the €150M asking price. If they don’t, they won’t get Dembélé, it’s that simple.

Dortmund could bring in several world class players with the money. They would have the ability to address the needs of the squad, and Bosz would have the ability to acquire players he wants. The money doesn’t have to be spent before the current window closes. It can be invested over time in transfer windows to come. The financial difference it can make for the club is significant. It has the chance to take Dortmund to the next level for the future.

If Dortmund sells, they will be left with Pulisic, Maximilian Philipp, André Schürrle, Emre Mor (maybe) and Marco Reus as wingers. Having Dembélé would help, but these players can get the job done this season. People seem to be writing off Philipp, but he will be able to provide a spark Dortmund are looking for if he is called upon. Pulisic is also primed for another strong season with Dortmund. He will be the immediate replacement if the transfer goes through.

We don’t know how this is all going to play out, but in the next few days we will see if Dembélé will be wearing black and yellow or red and blue.