I don't care about goals and assists (perhaps the most asinine stat in all of football). He's adored by his mates and coaches? Big deal. So is Fellaini. He's press resistant for sure, he dribbles past defenders like they are traffic cones and he's built like a small Rhino but his passing range is so limited and he has lost his head in every high pressure scenario I've seen him in over the last decade. It's actually incredible that a player that skilled at dribbling has no other significant attribute. He's great for a team aiming for the top 8, fine for a side aiming for top 4 but not at the level United aim to be at (although where do we aim to be?). The hype he gets is unreal. "Best midfielder in the world" said Martin Jol and the Guardian, the hipsters at f365 and football twitter. Ask them what he does and it's always - well he can't quite control a game, he doesn't tackle all the time like Kante and he doesn't really create many chances. So what does he do?
"Oh he does something different you know"
Maybe football has evolved too much for me to understand but I just don't see it with Demebele. Great to watch when he beats his man but then what happens? He's more likely to go back to the left back than go the full measure and play it forward. We really don't need more safety first footballers at United. Besides the position we need to invest in is a proper playmaker and a winger. Now Chrsitian Eriksen. That is a different prospect. He really is extraordinary. Perhaps the best buy of the decade for any PL club.
I mean, I think it's a slightly different situation with Dembele. People say that Fellaini is useful and that he's dangerous, which he is. Plenty of coaches have called Dembele the best footballer they have worked with, his fellow players call him the best player at the club, and his current manager has previously said that without him we don't have a team. He's been a fantastic player for us, it's not a situation like with Fellaini where he's controversial, he's loved by the fans who watch him every single week. Match goers in particular stress how important he is to our shape, the players look to him when he's on the pitch as the player who drags defenders away from their position.
His passing range is average, if it wasn't he would be a world class midfielder up there with the world's best. He tackles pretty well, he does control the midfield in a different sense to the Pirlo's of this world but by physically dominating opposing midfielders and making it impossible for them to even touch the ball at times. Having a player the opponents can't get the ball off is a great asset, his job is to lay it off to the more creative players in the team (who now have more space after Dembele has glided past 2-3 players) and allow them to do the rest. Lost his head in every high pressure situation? He went to Juventus and dominated their midfield, dominated United and Liverpool etc .. he's had numerous big games where he's been our best player. I'd argue he's a bit better than 'fine' for a team aiming for top four, considering most of our fans have consistently thought of him as one of our better players.
I understand that the hype can be a bit much, he's not one of the best midfielders in the world. He lacks that technical ability in his passing, or like you say an absolute standout attribute like Kante's ball winning ability, to be considered that. He's certainly been a very good player though and there's a reason managers love him, it's no surprise that when Dembele has been at his best other players in our team have flourished. Eriksen is fantastic but he needs players like Dembele (who hold it up, who draw away defenders) to operate. Dembele has gone up against some top class midfielders - Matic, Pogba, Pjanic etc and completely shut them down at times, not always but he has that ability when he's in full flow.
Unfortunately, last season in particular you can see that he's losing it a bit. He's resorting to fouling more often and is injured too often so it always feels like he needs match fitness. We still played our best football last season when Dembele was at his best though, and there's an undeniable correlation there.
