I’m not arguing that Dembélé has been on Neymar’s level. If Dembélé turns out half as good he will have done well...
I’m just pointing out that Neymar’s integration wasn’t hindered, he was a year older too. He played many games and he was allowed to make mistakes without consequence. Neymar lost the ball a ton too but that comes with being an attacking winger so I don’t make much fuss about it. Neymar wasn’t lazy as Dembélé though.
But if you want hard facts about their first season in terms of numbers. Neymar scored goals yes but Dembélé has the better passing stats, better assists and their chances created and key passes frequency are remarkably similar.
Dembélé’s problem is his attitude towards defending. If he can show more enthusiasm in terms of pressing then he has all makings of being a superstar here but Valverde must also not chastise him for his mistakes.
Yes, but Barca in Neymar's first season was trophyless. This Barca is close to a double and gunning for the treble. This means less time for Dembele, especially under a manager who does not want to take risks, even at the cost of overplaying the same players.
I agree that you need to give time to very young, potentially amazing players, by default. You need to see the talent and basically accept the risk of playing these players, because the reward could potentially be great.
Mourinho for example didn't want to accept that risk with De Bruyne, expecting the player to basically go around the moon trying to earn his place. Not all players will have the toughness to do that, some will fail if put under quests like that, even if they are great players. Some players just need a different approach.
I think managers shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that players are similar in terms of personality just because they share a skill like playing football. What methods work with a player can totally blow in your face with others. You have the Ibrahimovic-like personality who responds well to a completely different managerial approach. You have players like De Bruyne basically being the opposite needing more of a gentle approach.
I think Dembele is more like De Bruyne. Seems more of a quiet, shy guy, and putting extra pressure on him to prove everyone wrong could backfire. I would rather just play him 7-8 games in a row and allow him to build confidence slowly and steadily, without making him feel as if each moment he's out there, is like a test. As if he needs to do something big or else he'll end up on the bench. Just let the kid play and allow him to integrate naturally. And I believe the performances will improve and he'll be great.
In short, be drastic about him needing to have a great diet and be serious in trainings and such, but excuse the bad performances, until they become a worrying pattern. I mean if he plays from worse to worse and it lasts 6-7 games, then bench him. But not like that. Play him a game, bench, play him 15 mins, bench etc.
