- Jan 20, 2013
- 11,816
- 13,655
Thing is though at the time of purchase Dembele was taking the league by storm. It's now clear that was because at Fulham no teams sat back and he had the freedom to play in the same way as he did against Pool, and has done numerous times against other top sides. It's again easy to say in hindsight, but the fact is he was never tested at a club who would have to break down deep defensive sides which is where he struggles.
But why couldn't we see that though? Why were we lured in for that? Why did we not note his lack of passing creativity and production in the final third (even as a No 10 for Fulham he wasn't particularly prolific)? How were we suckered for this, when some of these clues were so clear even on paper?
While it's convenient that he's turned into a decent defensive mid, he was never the No 8 replacement we needed. We burned the entirety of the Modric proceeds on Dembele and Paulinho, and I think anyone would struggle to build a case suggesting that we spent those funds wisely. Were it not for a bit of luck in a youth academy product pushing through last term, I think we'd still be struggling for supply for the forward line from deep midfield and consequently feeling the effects of these weird midfield replacement choices.