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Former West Ham United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has warned Chelsea against signing French international Ousmane Dembele.
The World Cup-winning Frenchman is currently a free agent after his contract with Barcelona expired at the end of June.
According to Express Sport, Chelsea are interested in the services of the winger, who impressed under now-Blues boss Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund before his £126 million move to Barcelona in 2017. However, the former Rennes star is expected to command a massive wage and Shaka Hislop insisted that he is not worthy of that.
The former Newcastle United custodian admitted that Dembele has plenty of quality but argued that he has not showcased it on a consistent basis at Barcelona.
Hislop stated that it would be a huge gamble from the Blues' viewpoint to offer a mammoth deal to the winger, who has missed over a hundred games due to injury at the Blaugrana. The player-turned-pundit told ESPN (via the aforementioned source):
“If I am Chelsea, at the numbers that apparently Dembele is after, I am not sure that it is worth it.
“Dembele is after an awful lot of money and while he has shown that he can be worth that in the last six months of last season, that’s all we have seen from Dembele."
He questioned which version of the player would show up if the move went through. Hislop said:
“The question then becomes how big a gamble do you want to take? Is it the Dembele that we saw for two and a half years? Or the Dembele that we saw in the last six months?"
Hislop admitted that Dembele showcased his quality under Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez but advised Chelsea not to take a gamble. He added:
"I just think that’s a very expensive gamble for a player where you’re not quite sure how he fits in.
“Money no object I take the chance, but given the kind of money Dembele is supposedly asking for, if I am Chelsea I am a little bit reluctant.”
He stated:
“The thing is, the timing of the switch from [Ronald] Koeman to Xavi has served him very well. Because he has come in and played very well."
Should Chelsea take the risk of signing Ousmane Dembele?
Any club that is interested in Ousmane Dembele would also be wary of his injury history. However, there is no denying the fact that he is indeed a special talent and would be a valuable addition to any top club, that too on a free transfer.
The Frenchman arguably enjoyed the best form of his career under Thomas Tuchel which eventually landed him his big move to Barcelona. Dembele scored 10 goals and registered 22 assists in 50 appearances for Dortmund. Should Tuchel decide to snap him up on a free, the West Londoners should happily back their manager.
Dembele is only 25 years of age and can still live up to his incredible potential. A move to Stamford Bridge to reunite with his former manager could be exactly what he needs in his career.
