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Valverde will continue to play Dembele out of position at Barca

Valverde will continue to play Dembele out of position at Barca

Barcelona’s high-profile summer import Ousmane Dembele made his long-awaited return to the pitch when he replaced Jose Arnaiz in the 72nd minute of their Copa del Rey draw with Celta de Vigo.

Upon his return, manager Ernesto Valverde put the natural winger in the second striker position. As expected, Dembélé noticed the difference in roles and felt somewhat disoriented by the unfamiliar position he was thrust into.

“It was so that Dembele played in a position where he was released of defensive obligations, which were a bit stressful at that time of the match," Valverde said of Dembele's positional switch.”

"When we know that this was the first game of this player after almost four months without playing, I preferred that he be in a position where he can gradually get used to the game. We must take into account that the pace of a whole match against a first division team. For Ousmane, it would have been excessive."

Valverde will wait to move the 20-year-old €105 million signing into the Barca starting line-up.