Manchester United are in a rush to bring in an attacker before the transfer window closes next Monday.The Red Devils have spent the entire summer trying to convince Borussia Dortmund to sell Jadon Sancho, but without much luck.Fabrizio Romano reported on Wednesday that a deal with Dortmund is “stalling”.So they’ve turned their attentions to Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele.The 23-year-old has struggled to shine at the Camp Nou, largely as a result of his rotten injury luck.And he’s apparently available.Romano claims that Barcelona want to offload Dembele on a permanent deal, while Man United are keen on a loan move.
The France international will take some convincing to join the Old Trafford club, having rejected a move recently. But United are pushing to make it happen.
There will be some concerns about Dembele’s injury issues, but if he can remain healthy then he’ll be a great signing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Borussia Dortmund player is a fine talent and is capable of causing defences fits for 90 minutes.
Comfortable on either flank, he could be deployed in various ways in Solskjaer’s system.
With that in mind, we’ve come up with five ways Man United could line up with Dembele if they can complete a deal before the deadline.
4-3-3 with Dembele on the left wing
This formation would force Marcus Rashford to shift over to the right flank and would take away his ability to cut inside from the left, which we saw him do to such devastating affect in the 3-2 win against Brighton.
So it might be worth having Dembele on the other side…
4-3-3 with Dembele on the right wing
Rashford on the left, Anthony Martial through the middle and the two-footed Dembele on the right. Good luck stopping this.
4-2-3-1 with Greenwood and Dembele on the flanks
Greenwood and Dembele are both just as effective with their left foot as they are their right, so watching them switch flanks throughout games and confuse defences would be a lot of fun.
4-4-2 with Martial and Rashford up front
This formation would also allow Solskjaer to play both Greenwood and Dembele, although he would probably fancy mixing in a more defensive-minded central midfielder such as Fred to ensure a balanced team.
3-5-2 with Dembele at wing-back
We’re risking Man United being too offensive with this one, considering Dembele isn’t the most defensive-minded of players.
But he has experience playing as a wing-back, doing so in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Levante in December 2018.
Dembele played as a right wing-back and showcased his ability to help out in defensive situations while impressing in attack.
Whether Solskjaer could convince him to do this for an entire season is another matter, but it would be an interesting option for the Norwegian.
