Why Man Utd Can’t Turn Ousmane Dembélé injury issues around

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In the past week, rumours of a loan deal for Ousmane Dembélé to United have been almost inevitable. 

Whereas the player is rumoured to have turned down the opportunity earlier this summer, increasing uncertainty about his position in Ronald Koeman’s squad and a phone call from Paul Pogba reportedly made him reconsider. 

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Dembélé, at 23, is without a doubt one of the best wingers in the world when he is fit. As quickly becomes clear in in any comments section of Utd fan pages on social media, football fans are well aware that he rarely is, and much more scarcely remains, fit. 

We all know why Dembélé is now being considered: as an emergency back-up option for number 1 target Jadon Sancho. 

That implies that the Man Utd must believe they are capable of bringing Dembélé to full fitness, and more so than Barcelona’s medical team. (Given that Pep Guardiola still sends injured City players to Barcelona for any serious treatment despite City’s world-class medical team and facilities, that seems like a tall order.)

But Manchester United especially need to tread very carefully when considering transfers for injury-prone players. The Athletic has revealed that United has the worst recovery rate in the Premier League: it takes the club on average 59 days to return an injured player to full match fitness. Second-worst performers West Ham are still capable of doing it in 11 days less, at 48. Leicester City, best in the league, only need an average of 16 days. 

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Of course, long-term injuries to Alexis Sanchez, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay and Eric Bailly contribute a lot to this number. But that alone does not explain why one of the richest clubs in the world has the worst recovery rate in the Premier League. Tottenham, who lost Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris to long-term injuries, still outperform United at an average of 37 days. 

Precisely why we United performs so poorly is hard to say. 

It could just be a matter of a below-par medical team. Hiring top medical and sporting talent in the industry is a task that has seemed elusive to the board over the years. The world’s best analytical talent is employed by Arsenal and Liverpool, not United. The greatest strengthening has happened on the business, rather than sporting side: the social media and video teams are some of the best in the world. 

It could also be a lack of political weight alotted to their advice: if Solskjaer needs points, but the medical team wants his first choice to rest, who makes the final decision? As Spurs’ Amazon All or Nothing series has taught us, this can be a difficult but vital balance to strike.

Offering some of the highest wages in the league might also have an impact. If you’re making £120.000 per week not to play, perhaps your return to fitness does not feel like such a pressing matter. 

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In any case, both McTominay and Pogba aggravating their injuries by an early return, and Pogba’s management subsequently seeking second opinion from an independent surgeon does not speak in favour of the current medical team. 

That Manchester United would get the best out of Dembélé, Barcelona’s man of glass, seems therefore highly unlikely. 

Nor will the very eagerly leaked negotioations with Barcelona worry Zorc and the Dortmund board, let alone pressure them into accepting a lower bid for Jadon Sancho.