Borussia Dortmund knew it was coming, and a deal that saw Ousmane Dembele leave Signal Iduna Park and join Spanish giants Barcelona for a reported €105m finally happened, according to BBC Sport.
This had been a transfer saga that began when Neymar signed for Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee, leaving Barca needing a new star to partner Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez up front.
While the Catalan outfit got their man, have Borussia Dortmund come out on top in this deal?
Massive profit
The obvious sign of success for the Westfalenstadion side is that they only paid €15m for the 20-year-old 12 months ago, but could make up to €147m, including add-ons, from the sale, although 25% of it will be given to French side Rennes, the club Dortmund signed Dembele from.
While BVB lose a player that has been tipped to be the world’s best in the future, they were never going to be able to keep hold of him. In his first season in Germany, the French international scored 10 goals and recorded 21 assists in all competitions. Although he could have beaten those figures in the current campaign had he stayed, Dortmund would lose out on the transfer fee as Barca would look elsewhere.
Since the Spanish giants came calling, Dembele’s heart had been set on a move, missing training and arguing with the club in his attempts to force a move through. Such a player is not the sort Dortmund or manager Peter Bosz will want to have in the side.
Strength in depth
When it comes to replacing stars, it is always going to be difficult, just ask Barcelona.
The Catalan side have spent weeks with £200m in their bank account, trying to entice someone to fill the void left by Neymar.
Yet, Dortmund already have a squad brimming with youth and talent, all fighting for a place in the first team. Dembele could play either on the wing or as a central attacking midfielder.
Out wide, notable senior figures include Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle, while Christian Pulisic continues to impress, after coming through the academy, along with Turkish speedster Emre Mor and new signing Maximilian Phillipp, who joined from Freiburg.
In the middle, Mario Gozte is the star name, with former Manchester United attacker Shinji Kagawa also fighting for competition.
Although Dortmund will miss Dembele’s creativity and goals, they are already well-stocked to replace him, while also having a substantial amount of money to re-invest and build the squad for the season.
