The Basics
Age: 26
Club: Free agent
Nation: France
Position: Striker
Footed: Right
Dembélé spent eight years in PSG’s academy before signing for Fulham as a 16-year-old. He made his debut for Fulham in 2013 and became a first-team regular in the 2015/16 season, making 43 Championship appearances, scoring 15 goals and providing six assists.
The striker moved to Celtic as a free agent in the summer of 2016 and continued his brilliant form, scoring 51 goals in 94 appearances before Lyon signed him for a reported fee of around £20million in August 2018.
Between the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons, Dembélé scored 66 goals for Lyon. This was sandwiched around an unproductive six-month loan spell to Atlético Madrid.
He fell out of favour in the 2022/23 campaign at Lyon, starting only eight games among his 23 appearances and scoring three times, before becoming a free agent at the end of the season.
The Links
Villa were linked with a move for Dembélé back in January, with Tom Collomosse of Mail Sport reporting the striker could be available for as little as £3million with his contract expiring.
Foot Mercato later claimed Villa had “no intention” of paying a transfer fee for Dembélé and would instead wait until the summer and try to sign him as a free agent.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
It’s easy to see why Dembélé has scored so many goals throughout his career, he is an instinctive striker.
The first element of that is his movement. The Frenchman plays on the shoulder of the last defender, always looking to get behind the back line.
He makes darting runs towards goal anticipating crosses and finds space in the box for cutbacks, often being in the right place at the right time to score. He ranks in the 83rd percentile for expected goals (xG) compared to Ligue 1 forwards since the 2018/19 season.
Dembélé is a confident finisher and can improvise if needed with back-heels or chips. He is also an accomplished penalty taker.
Standing at 6’0”, he is also a threat in the air and scores plenty of headed goals.
The striker shows the ability to hold the ball up and link play. He flashes impressive first touches, can fend off defenders and find a teammate, or flick headers into space.
He will do his bit defensively, chasing down defenders and pressing with intensity at times, but more so dropping into passing lanes to cut them off. Dembélé ranks in the 51st percentile for interceptions and the 47thfor blocks.
At corners he has been asked to guard the front post and stays switched on to hold the defensive line with his teammates in the second phase. He ranks in the 73rd percentile for clearances.
Weaknesses
Dembélé isn’t all that interested in getting involved in build-up. All he wants to do is get into the box and score, looking to run behind when sometimes he should show for the ball to feet. He ranks in the 20th percentile for pass attempts and the 36th for progressive passes.
His style of play means he often strays offside, despite trying to curve his run at times. Dembélé ranks in the 31st percentile for offsides.
Although the evidence is there of an ability to hold the ball up, Dembélé can equally look clumsy at times, allowing the ball to bounce off him. He ranks in the 34th percentile for miscontrols and the 27th for times dispossessed.
There are instances where his defensive work isn’t as purposeful as others, and he doesn’t always engage with the ball-carrier once he gets there. Dembélé ranks in the 34th percentile for tackles.
Fit With Villa
Dembélé would compete with Ollie Watkins for a place in the starting 11 or join him if Unai Emery wants to use an orthodox front two instead of a false striker.
He would probably take over as Villa’s first-choice penalty taker right away, and would differ from Watkins slightly, offering a bit less in terms of link-up play but a bit more in front of goal.
Villa have a need for another experienced striker, and on a free transfer, Dembélé would make a lot of sense.
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
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