As the season draws to a close it is difficult to see how Borussia Dortmund have missed Ousmane Dembele.
The Frenchman left the Signal Iduna Park to join Lionel Messi and Co at Barcelona for a club record £135.5 million deal but the 20-year old has struggled to really stamp his authority at the Camp Nou.
He was signed to be a direct replacement for Neymar, who left Barcelona to sign for Unai Emery’s Paris Saint Germain side for £200 million.
Injuries have plagued Dembele’s debut season, and with Antoine Griezman looking likely to sign on a 100 million euros deal in the summer, the young midfielder could be shafted even further down the pecking order.
But had Dortmund really missed him?
Andriy Yarmolenko has been a very good signing for BVB this season scoring three goals and assisting five this season.
A 25 million Euros signing from Dynamo Kiev, he only cost a snippet of what Dembele did and he has filled the void well despite being a completely different player to the Frenchman.
The Ukrainian midfielder has functioned on both wings this season and has been a major part of Borussia Dortmund’s campaign this year.
Jadon Sancho is also one to watch for the future, scoring his first goal and providing a rather sublime assist for Maximilian Phillipe against Bayern Leverkusen.
The 18-year old was signed from Manchester City for £7.5 million and he will be a massive player for Dortmund in the years to come.
It is extremely difficult to say whether the Yellows missed Dembele or not as neither have really had a spectacular season this year.
A third-place finish is looking likely for BVB while the Frenchman’s season will be even more scrutinised next season if he stays fit.
There have been flashes of brilliance by the former Dortmund midfielder, most notably his powerful effort against Chelsea in the round of 16, but at £135 million, Barcelona was hoping that the Frenchman was going to be their next superstar.
He is still young and his injuries would have made him even stronger.
But he will have to turn it on next year, otherwise Barcelona will not be as forgiving.
