Dembele’s versatility excites Barca boss

Ernesto Valverde is excited by the versatility new Barcelona arrival Ousmane Dembele will offer his attack.

Barca reached an agreement to sign Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of €105million on Friday, with the France international set to sign a five-year contract.

Valverde cannot wait to work with the 20-year-old, who he feels provides him with multiple tactical options.

“He is a player who guarantees offensive depth, the depth that we have lost and that we need,” Valverde said ahead of today’s LaLiga trip to Alaves.

“He is a player who can play on both sides of attack, also in the middle, so that gives us a lot of possibilities.

“He is quick, skilful and we hope he will be able to bring a lot to the team. We are very excited about this player. We have got high hopes, we still need to get to know him on a personal level. It is going to be great to get to know him at the club.

“Last year at Dortmund you could already see he was a good player. Barcelona were also looking at him back then.

“Borussia Dortmund have been able to see in person just what a quality player he is and let’s hope he lives up to every expectation here and brings us lots of joy.”

The deal for Dembele could reach a total of €147m if all add-on conditions are met and Valverde concedes the transfer market has ballooned.

Valverde, though, was reluctant to compare the skillset of Dembele with Neymar, who joined Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record €222m.