Xavi provides Dembele hopes after Barcelona transfer saga

Ousmane Dembele is in contention of making his first start under Xavi after spending weeks with minimal action.

Following a complex January transfer saga, Xavi indicated that Ousmane Dembele might be in for his first start for Barcelona on Thursday.

The Frenchman appeared for the first time in over a month during their 2-2 draw against Espanyol on Sunday.

Bounded by a turbulent transfer talk, the 24-year-old was excluded from Barca’s list during January. In the end, Dembele found himself continuing his career at Camp Nou until the end of his contract.

Ahead of Barcelona’s first Europa League game against Napoli, Xavi delivered a slight hint for his revival.

🚨 La composition que Xavi alignera ce soir selon Sport. #UEL

👉 De Jong en 6, le retour de Dembele en tant que titulaire, 1ère titularisation d’Aubameyang. 💥

C’est ce soir pour ce #BarcaNapoli 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/rexp5vOfnu
— BlaugrActu (@BlaugrActu) February 17, 2022

The Blaugrana boss said: “We don’t rule out that he can play at home or away. Whether he plays or not depends only on how the players train and who is better or worse. He can play.”

“He already did it against Espanyol and he helped us a lot for 20 minutes.”

More so, Xavi believes that Dembele still has a crucial role as we head into the final third of the campaign.

Xavi added: “He is going to help us for sure until the end of the season because he is a great player. He is one of the squad and he will play when we need him. And when we believe he can help us compete and win.”