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#3 Lorenzo Insigne
When you part with a player who is as good as Neymar Jr., you'd want to replace him with someone who has proven to operate at a very high level. That's why Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne should have been a top target for Barcelona.
The Italian international is one of the most technically blessed wingers of his generation and he had a wonderful outing in the 2016-17 season. Insigne scored 20 goals and provided 11 assists in 49 appearances for Napoli that term.
He was a standout performer in a very talented side that finished third in Serie A, just five points behind eventual winners Juventus. It was peak 'Sarriball' times at Napoli and Insigne would have been a great like-for-like replacement for Neymar.
Insigne was just 25-years-old at the time and would definitely have not cost more than €80 million.
#2 Raheem Sterling
It is quite baffling that Barcelona were ready to break their transfer record for a player who was 19-years-old and had just one breakout season. It's not like they were short of options, especially given the kind of money they had at their disposal.
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling was 22 years old at the time and already had a reputation for being an electric presence down the left flank. The Englishman was the first-choice down the left wing for Manchester City.
In 47 appearances for Pep Guardiola's men in the 2016-17 season, Sterling scored 10 goals and provided 20 assists. The Premier League is one of the toughest leagues in the world and despite his lack of size, Sterling had already proven to be very effective.
He had joined Manchester City in 2015 from Liverpool for a sum in the ballpark of €50 million. Sterling would have cost Barcelona half of what Dembele did. The Englishman has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best wingers in the world.
#1 Kylian Mbappe
In the same summer that Paris Saint-Germain bought Neymar Jr., they made another very public statement of their intent by bringing in Kylian Mbappe on loan. The French teenage prodigy tore it up for AS Monaco in the 2016-17 season where they won the Ligue 1 title and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Mbappe scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists in 44 appearances for AS Monaco that term. He was clearly the 'next big thing' in football. He would have cost more than Dembele but it's not like Barcelona did not have the money or the option of signing him.
In an interview with Esport3 in October 2021, Josep Maria Bartomeu, who was the president of Barcelona at the time, said:
"[Mbappe's] signing was on the table, but the coaches preferred Dembele because they wanted a player to open the field."
