Ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker has warned his former club about signing Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.
The Frenchman is out of contract in the summer, with the Red Devils, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus all said to be interested in snapping up the player on a free transfer.
There was also speculation that Anthony Martial could be used in some sort of swap deal for Dembele, but Parker feels that United would not benefit from bringing in a very similar player:
“Dembele has got ability, and that’s why at a given time, Barcelona paid a lot of money for him. He was getting to the top of the peak and then you see what has happened to him. The only problem with him is, does he come with a hospital bed? A lot of his problems are mental and his problems with the club. He lets that get to him and gets emotional and becomes a little bit weak and stubborn.”
“Do Manchester United need another player like that? They’ve got one like that in Martial. It’s a like-for-like. Do you need another Frenchman coming in with the same kind of attitude, that the moment it goes against him, he throws all his tools out of the bag and wants to spend all his time trying to find another place to play football.”
Parker is right to point out Dembele’s poor injury record but his comments about his attitude are rather harsh. The player has performed pretty well when he is fit and available.
Whether United actually need the France international, though, is another matter. The 24-year-old prefers to play off the right-wing but, with the likes of Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho in the squad already, there really doesn’t seem to be a place for him.
