On the eve of PSG’s trip to Lille, Luis Enrique was inevitably questioned about two major topics: Ousmane Dembélé being given time off and Bradley Barcola’s future. The Paris coach was very clear about his number 10, but far less forthcoming about the French winger’s situation in the transfer market.
Ruled out of Friday night’s match against LOSC, Dembélé has been given time off by PSG until Monday. The decision had raised plenty of questions after he was substituted at half-time against Rennes (2-2). Luis Enrique, however, insisted that it should not be interpreted as any kind of punishment. “There is nothing new. Over the past few years, there have been times when we have given players recovery periods,” the Spaniard explained, recalling that he had previously done the same with Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappé.
Luis Enrique Reaffirms His Faith in Dembélé
The PSG coach was particularly keen to reiterate the French international’s importance to his plans. “For us, he is an essential player, a top-level player. He made a big effort this summer to be available for the European Super Cup and the Trophée des Champions during his holidays,” he stressed. Luis Enrique added: “He has been, he is and he will be an essential player for us.” The coach also believes Dembélé made “a good decision” by using this period to recover, and other players could receive similar breaks during the season.
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Those comments allowed Luis Enrique to dismiss the speculation that emerged after the Rennes match, even though he had publicly reminded his players a few days earlier that nobody had any credit in the bank and that they constantly had to “step out of their comfort zone.” Regarding Barcola, however, the PSG coach offered almost nothing. With the French winger’s future dominating the final days of the transfer window, Luis Enrique simply said: “Bradley Barcola is, still, a PSG player.”
The statement certainly does not rule out a departure. Luis Enrique had already said a few days earlier that he would wait until the transfer window closed before speaking openly about the situations of Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye: “I will talk about the transfer window when the transfer window is over.” With only a few days remaining before the deadline, the message is therefore very different for the two forwards: Dembélé continues to be presented as an essential part of PSG’s project, while Luis Enrique is merely pointing out Barcola’s current contractual status.
