Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembélé (26) will make an emotional return to the Roazhon Park this Sunday night with the France international locking horns with his formative club: Stade Rennais.
L’Equipe have written a feature on Dembélé’s breakout years with Les Rouge et Noir. At only 18, the Evreux-born winger has taken Ligue 1 by storm during the 2015-16 season by logging twelve goals and five assists in only 26 games played, including a match-winning hat trick before half-time against bitter rivals FC Nantes in the Breton derby. The outlet understands that, before this season, Dembélé had visited the facilities at RB Salzburg when it transpired that then-Rennes manager Philippe Montanier would not rely on him. Stade Rennais eventually turned down the €4m bid from the Austrian side.
After Dembélé had announced himself to Ligue 1 through his eye-catching performances, the player, accompanied by his agents, reportedly met with Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp in Paris with a view to bringing the talented Frenchman to Anfield. However, Borussia Dortmund and Stade Rennais then agreed upon €15m pre-contract for Dembélé. The latter pushed for the move to the Bundesliga side to materialize. In 2016, Liverpool eventually signed Senegalese international winger Sadio Mané from Southampton.
Dembélé only spent one season with the Thomas Tuchel-led side before moving to Barcelona for a total package worth €135m.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
