The talented France forward arrived last summer after Neymar left the club, but his place could now be under threat from another Brazilian attacker
Barcelona's signing of Malcom has caused controversy. The winger arrived last week in a €41 million deal , despite the fact that both Bordeaux and Roma had announced the player would be moving to the Stadio Olimpico this summer.
The Catalans' late interest in the 21-year-old Brazilian even sparked some suggestions that the club had been unaware of him until Roma's sporting director Monchi made his move, while the nature of the deal also raises serious doubts over Barca's strategy in the transfer market.
Coach Ernesto Valverde had wanted to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid and everyone at Barca was sure the France forward would arrive at Camp Nou this summer. There were even indications from the player that he would be joining.
But Griezmann accepted a huge offer to stay at Atleti that will see him bring in around €23m after tax every year and his decision, announced in a documentary at the start of the World Cup, meant Barca had to think again.
So after signing midfielder Arthur from Gremio earlier in the summer and then bringing in centre-back Clement Lenglet from Sevilla , they swooped to recruit Malcom to bolster their forward line for 2018-19.
The Brazilian is undoubtedly an exciting player who was wanted by a number of clubs across Europe, although not seemingly by Barca until right at the last minute (although they were aware of him), and not by Valverde.
Asked about his new winger in his first press conference of the pre-season, Valverde gave a somewhat awkward response. "He is a player the club has known for some time and in the end they have decided to sign him," he said. "He is a young player, with future projection, and the club decided to sign him."
It was not a very convincing statement and one which did not suggest harmony between the technical team, now led by former left-back Eric Abidal after Robert Fernandez left in June, and the coaching staff.
Malcom, who hit the winning penalty against Tottenham after a 2-2 draw in the teams' International Champions Cup clash on Saturday night , will now line up against Roma, the side he snubbed to join Barca, in Texas on Tuesday .
Roma were also the team that knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League last season and Valverde surprisingly left out Ousmane Dembele of his line-up in both legs of that away-goals loss, only throwing on the France forward for the final few minutes as the Blaugrana sought a late goal in the Italian capital.
That was despite the fact that Philippe Coutinho, signed in January from Liverpool, was cup-tied and unable to feature in the Champions League after playing in the group stages of the competition with the Reds earlier in the season.
Certainly there was a sense that Valverde did not trust Dembele when it mattered most and there were even reports that he could leave the Catalan club after an injury-interrupted first season at Camp Nou. An unremarkable World Cup – despite France winning the tournament – where Dembele barely featured in the knockouts after a poor group stage did little to repair his reputation.
The signing of Malcom has only intensified speculation surrounding his future, but Abidal said last week: "Dembele is important. We absolutely count on him. [He and Malcom] are players who play in the same position, but the seasons are long and we are thinking of the club. Dembele can be relaxed, he is important."
One of the concerns over the former Borussia Dortmund attacker last season was a perceived lack of defensive discipline, but the club are sure he will benefit from a full pre-season and believe he can continue to adapt in this coming campaign.
"We hope it's his season," Valverde said on Friday. "He has to give us a lot of things, he is an extraordinary player. Last year was unfortunate because of the injury he had, but even then he gave us a lot."
Having paid an initial €105m for Dembele a year ago, Barca are definitely not ready to give up on the France forward, now a World Cup winner and still only 21, but it is likely that he and Malcom will be in direct competition for a starting spot for the Catalan club in 2018-19.
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Alberoni
156
Malcom and dembele are both great players I think they gonna help each other to grow and become better players this is the kind of healthy competition every top team should have . Wish both of them good luck for the new season 🍀
sunnysayus
116
Malcom is a very good player that have played excellent football in France.Dembele has done well too.But the competition for playing time is really serious between the two.Dembele played a minor part in world cup while Malcom did not go to Russia with Brazil at all.But Valverdes has an important choice to make between the two but Barcelona should be the winner here because both of them will have to play well and the coach will have to be extra sensitive and Barcelona can perform well under these conditions.
chengko
82
I like when there is competition u see the best out of players but now I Don think dembele should be worried he should show his talent and he will gain the starting line up Malcom can play at the left side to so why is he worried over nothing
Yedcdelmty
75
It is just like Messi and Ronaldo- only difference being that it is happening in the same club. I would call it a mixture of Rivalry and Passion(more stress on the latter) One who would have more passion would thrive. For Dembele, the case is simple- Perform. Initially, I see Dembele as the first choice among the two. He would initially get the nod from the coach due to his price tag. It is at this moment that he needs to perform. If he doesn't he'll only make a fool of himself. He has no leverage whatsoever(well there is that Price tag). He should more determined than ever considering that he wasn't even a regular at the world cup. For Malcom? This is his 1st season. He would be at ease, no doubt. Less pressure on him than Dembele. whenever he get's a chance, he should perform too. If possible remain injury free too. If all of this happens, then We'll have a treat for us. This will allow Messi and Suarez to rest if both of them explode.(fingers crossed)
Omar18
75
Tommorrow is my 500th day on af
follower
57
both dembele and malcom will have a serious competition for the starting spot, the one who performs better will start.however, Barcelona could rotate and make them happy, this will boost their confidence to become one of the best in the future, learning how to be calm and respect each other. having competition will lead them to glory, will this glory be champions league? who wants that to happen? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆
Robthomas45
56
When looking at Malcom and dembele I think of Sanchez and Neymar. Malcom has a better chance to start with more minutes and provide more productivity than Dembele. Malcom reminds me of an Alexis Sanchez who will one day move out and try to be the main man at another top club. Dembele at such a young age and proven quality will encapsulate what Barca is all about in given time, hopefully he doesn’t leave to PSG once it’s his time but he will be clearly better than Malcom after 3-4 years in camp nou.
bismarckofash
42
the most important issue is that the club should not sale dembele.de competition between the two wil make them to always play at their top levels to gain a position and am sure that's the main reason the club sign malcon.dembele kep up don't b a lazy boy wrk hard for ur position .and same gos to Malcon. love you all
KurtOsmena
30
Key difference is confidence. Dembele needs to have that and hopefully winning the world cup would give him more of that. Malcom has that typicall brazillian cockiness (i meant that in a good way) that made a lot of brazillian players succeed in so many ways.
mee zi
20
Malcolm signing will make Dembele more difficult to get a spot in 1st eleven. Dembele still struggle with his injury at very young ages and still can't get much time in a match. Dembele need to speed up his progress and try to adapt as soon as possible. Barca is not a normal club but a great club for those who always want to be champion. [Comeon]