Barcelona Hands Ousmane Dembele Neymar's No. 11 Shirt After Dortmund Transfer
FC Barcelona have announced that Ousmane Dembele will wear the squad number which was formally donned by Neymar, signalling that the young Frenchman is indeed regarded as the Brazilian's undisputed replacement.
Dembele, 20, will lay claim to the number 11 jersey in the 2017/18 campaign - according to a report published by Sport English - after making the switch to the Blaugrana from Borussia Dortmund. He arrives in a deal supposedly worth €105m with add-ons allegedly amounting to a figure of €40m, collectively smashing Barca's transfer-record.
Neymar linked-up with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee in excess of €200m, meaning that La Liga outfit certainly had more than enough funds available to land the exciting winger from the Bundesliga club.
The search for Neymar's successor was underway almost immediately, and the hunt also included Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho amongst other names on Barcelona's wishlist, but it appears that the Catalans have indeed found their man. Dembele and a number of his new teammates took to Twitter on Friday to express just how pleased they were with the move.
Dembele registered 10 goals for BVB last term, but more impressively the starlet also managed to supply his former teammates with 21 assists, making him one of the most creative characters in the modern game, influencing Barcelona's initial interest.
Renowned for his ability to effortlessly use both of his feet with expert precision, Dembele has a bright future ahead of him in Spain, if he can continue to terrorise opposing defences on the flanks on a weekly basis.
Before Dembele, Thiago Alcántara, Zambrotta, Jeffren Suárez, Bojan Krkic, Maxi López, Marc Overmars and Rivaldo also possessed the number 11 shirt at the Camp Nou, so as if filling Neymar's boots wasn't enough pressure on his young shoulders, he certainly has a glittering array of past legends once of Barca to emulate.
