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Ousmane Dembele Borussia Dortmund
Ben Hayward

Why Ousmane Dembele could be the best replacement for Neymar

Transfers
LaLiga
Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund
Stats
Bundesliga

The Borussia Dortmund winger is close to the Brazilian's output in terms of assists and could slot into the vacant position on the left at Camp Nou

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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.

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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Over 28 monthsSave 73%
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's top-tier Express Pro plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers an unlimited private email relay plus an unlimited number of shared aliases and 20 custom domains, ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator, and ExpressAI, an AI assistant that offers 500 credits a day, six AI models, a web search facility plus 2GB storage.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save around 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 67%. Both longer-term plans include a 3GB holiday.com eSIM that is valid for five days in 150+ destinations.

Over 28 monthsSave 67%
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's entry-level Basic plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

The VPN can be applied across 10 different devices simultaneously, and offers Lite Protection that blocks ads and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.

Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.

Over 28 monthsSave 80%
Advanced protection across 11 devices with high-speed VPN
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Advanced

Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

The VPN can be applied across 12 different devices simultaneously, and offers Advanced Protection that blocks ads, trackers and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.

Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 100MB/month private email relay plus 50 shared aliases and a custom domain, and ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 73%. Both longer-term plans include a 3GB holiday.com eSIM that is valid for three days in 150+ destinations.

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STATS

Barcelona identified two targets to replace Neymar. The Catalan club wanted to bring in Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele before the close of the transfer window on August 31, after being left reeling by Paris Saint-Germain's decision to meet Neymar's €222 million buy-out clause.

Barca 7/5 to win La Liga

Neither club wanted to sell but while Liverpool have stood firm andrejected three separate bids for Coutinho, BVB eventually decided to deal after Barca agreed to pay them a staggering €105m (plus a potential €42m in bonuses) for Dembele, a 20-year-old attacker with just two full seasons of professional football under his belt

The fee is ludicrous but the statistics show that Dembele could well prove the best possible replacement for Neymar.

Dembele is right-footed and although he plays mainly on the right for Dortmund, Barca like to operate with inverted wingers who can cut inside and shoot. That means he could slot in on the left at Camp Nou in the position recently vacated by Neymar.

Next matches
FCB

FCB

Bundesliga

31 Oct 2026

BVB

BVB

BAR

BAR

LaLiga

31 Oct 2026

ALA

ALA

Dembele expected goals graphic

Opta's expected assist (xA) model measures how likely it is that a completed pass becomes an assist based on factors such as pass type, distance to goal before and after the pass, and pass length. This assigns an xA value that reflects how likely a pass will lead to a goal. And it shows that Dembele (with a mark of 10.73) is only just behind Neymar (11.53), while his number is the fifth best in all of Europe's top five leagues.

Opta's expected goals (xG) model measures how likely a particular shot is to be scored based on distance to the goal, angle to the goal, assist type, whether or not it was headed and a variety of other factors. This assigns an xG value that reflects how likely the shot is to be scored.

Neymar Barcelona Real Madrid ICC

Dembele's xG mark is much lower (5.73) than Neymar's (12.42). However, the French winger is still young and should be able to improve that side of his game as he continues to develop.

At Barcelona, he will also be likely to have more goalscoring opportunities, while he will be able to shoot with his favoured foot if he starts on the left and he would be playing alongside two forwards - Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez - who have netted 96 and 95 goals, respectively, over the past two seasons.

So, even though Barca have made Dembele - who joined BVB from Rennes last year for €15m - the second most expensive player in history, his xA stats show he may be the best replacement for Neymar.

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