One of the persistent lessons of the past two years at Chelsea is the realisation that internal solutions can sometimes be as good, if not better, than external ones.
That theory was brought into harsh light during the summer of 2019 when Chelsea served a one window transfer ban from FIFA.
Chelsea supporters all know the story now, Frank Lampard arrives – young players breakthrough – new stars are created.
But it can be tempting to look back at that period with nostalgia as we move further from it or simply use it to brag about Cobham rather than appreciate the transformative lesson it taught us.
This pertains to the potential chase for attacker Ousmane Dembele, who will depart Barcelona this summer at the end of his contract.
Dembele flourished in one season under Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, which led him to be valued worth a £126m fee by Barcelona in the summer of 2017.
Dembele under Tuchel reached double figures in goals and 21 assists in 49 appearances despite being only a 19-year-old, averaging 0.24 goals per 90 minutes with 0.49 assists per 90 in the 2016/17 season via WyScout.
"He's a very good player, and I am very fortunate to have trained him in my time at Borussia Dortmund," was Tuchel's response when asked about Dembele's link to Chelsea in the past month.
"It was only one year. It should have been longer, but I needed to leave, and he decided to leave."
Tuchel's admiration for Dembele is clear, and the opportunity for a reunion could prove a gamble worth taking even if the French winger has missed over 100 club games for Barcelona since his switch from Dortmund.
But there are alternatives proven in the Premier League and would not cost the club as much.
Firstly is looking at Callum Hudson-Odoi, a wide player who has impressed this season under Tuchel in his favoured left-wing role. Although Hudson-Odoi has not put up the scoring numbers yet, his creative influence in this seasons team has been undeniable.
As Adam Newson recently noted, Hudson-Odoi's lack of Premier League minutes puts into perspective how small the sample size still is.
Chelsea strongly rejected two offers from Bayern Munich in 2019 and 2020, and the potential is there for Hudson-Odoi to better develop into a more consistent wide star.
The second alternative here is Conor Gallagher.
Yes, a central midfielder. But a player who could prove versatile and dynamic enough to play further up the pitch as an attacking midfielder.
Gallagher has seven Premier League goals from 19 appearances and has proved an influential attacking midfielder, consistently making late runs into the box.
Tuchel has proven that a midfielder like Mason Mount can be transformed into an influential presence starting as an inverted winger, dropping into dangerous pockets of space to dictate Chelsea attacks.
And all of this is not even accounting for the wide players Chelsea has already got in Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, who could still both prove effective for Tuchel.
Dembele's injury record is a big red flag, one that is silly to ignore given the injury problems Chelsea have faced with Pulisic.
Internal solutions have saved the club tons in transfer fees and should always be considered as alternatives to risky deals like Dembele.
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