There were several eyebrows raised back in January when Chelsea was linked with Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele. Although Thomas Tuchel had uncovered the game-changing form that propelled the Frenchman to a record-breaking transfer in the summer of 2017, his injury record since that move has mostly defined his Barcelona career.
Missing over 100 games since the beginning of the 2017/18 season is a massive red flag, particularly given Chelsea's own problems with injury-prone attackers over recent seasons. (Looking at you, Christian Pulisic)
However, in Sunday night's El Classico, Dembele reminded everyone watching how devastating he can be when on the pitch, setting up Barcelona's opening two goals en route to a 4-0 hammering of Real Madrid.
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Dembele first drove down the right-wing, leaving Nacho in his wake before curling a teasing cross into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to head past a stranded Thibaut Courtois. The second assist was a corner, a precise outswinger to find the head of Ronald Araújo.
Along with his peer Frenkie de Jong, Dembele created the most chances for Barcelona on the evening, rekindling his connection with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund under Tuchel. And in addition to his return to fitness, Dembele has also been directly involved in seven goals in his last six games, as noted by Statman Dave.
Much about Barcelona's dismantling of Real in their own backyard would have piqued Chelsea's interest ahead of next month's Champions League quarter-final against Los Blancos. But along with any tactical weak spots for Tuchel to exploit, the influence of Dembele probably gives more weight to the idea a move for the free agent this summer is one worth doing.
We have to put this in all articles regarding Chelsea at the moment, because how could we not? But the uncertainty over the ownership undermines any transfer chat.
However, in a perfect world where that situation is quickly resolved, one would hope previous transfer plans could restart, including the interest in Dembele's free-agent status this summer. Tuchel, when asked about his former player, has always been full of admiration, opening up the possibility of a reunion at Stamford Bridge.
The performance of Dembele also offers Tuchel an easy template of how his current Chelsea attack can unravel Real's defence for the second season running. In last May's Champions League semi-final, an attack of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner all caused havoc.
Aided by the lung-bursting runs of N'Golo Kante from central midfield, Chelsea overwhelmed the La Liga giants despite only having 32% possession in the second leg last May, winning 2-0 to reach the final. The same could be applied again as the trio of Havertz, Mount and Pulisic are quickly finding form at the perfect time.
Gone are the insipid, unproductive performances we saw from Tuchel's attack in the winter, now replaced with a more consistent and fluid frontline who have produced some brilliant goals in the past two weeks.
Dembele and Barcelona's emphatic win probably demonstrated why Chelsea can feel confident ahead of the rematch with Real whilst also showcasing a potential target.
