Barça trying to help Dembele complete his complex landing

Two muscle injuries have hampered Ousmane Dembele's integration at Barcelona, a young star that landed at the massive Catalan club with hardly 18 months as a professional. In that time, a lot has happened: became a professional, success at Rennes, transfer to Borussia Dortmund, France call-up, transfer to Barcelona and the operation on his ruptured tendon. It's a lot to manage for a player who, at that time, was the second most expensive player in the world, after Neymar. 

His arrival in Barcelona was not easy, where the demands are maximum. The serious injury, ruling him out for four months, halted his adaption. Dembele was stuck in a hotel for several weeks, without being able to go to the training ground, alone in the Catalan city. His time was taken up playing video games and phoning his friends and family in France. 

The problem became bigger when the club discovered his bad eating habits, those of most young kids. 

THE CLUB INTERVENED 

Barça intervened to help him organise his life in a manner more fitting of a top-level footballer, moving him away from his fast-food diet. "He must use Samuel Umtiti as an example, who has a more monastic life. Dembele's a kid of 20 years, a millionaire in a city with a lot of temptations. A little order in his life would do him good," a source from the club told Le Parisien. 

Dembele asked for three flats in Barcelona, on top of each other. One for him, another for his father and the third for his mother -- they are separated. The petition couldn't be attended because the club couldn't find a suitable option. Finally, they found a flat in the north of the city, where it's normal for his friends to spend a lot of time with him. 

The club have asked him to eat at the training ground, so he can be educated on eating habits. They have also given him a chef for his dinners. Some inside the club lament that the family tensions around him have an effect, too. 

Umtiti is his closest ally at the club. The injury slowed down his integration in the dressing room and the language barrier has also had an affect. His team-mates have tried to facilitate him, although it's Umtiti and Digne that have the weight of trying to make him feel at home as soon as possible. 

On the pitch, without having time to familiarise himself with Valverde's concepts, Dembele has a lack of confidence and doesn't always know where to place himself or how to link with his team-mates. Some, like Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, have been seen to be frustrated at times after mistakes. 

Dembele's looking for a change at Barça and the club will try to help him on his path to a more professional life. He has time, but that doesn't hide the fact that rumours have started to appear about a possible loan, something which the club have not considered for the coming season.