Siriki Dembele, a Birmingham City forward, is believed to be on Blackburn Rovers’ wishlist for the 2024-25 season.
Following a rather quiet transfer window, Dembele has been linked with a reunion with former manager John Eustice in Lancashire.
Dembele’s journey through the pyramid
Dembele was born in the Ivory Coast and came to Scotland with his family in 2004. He attended a number of academies, including Dundee United and Ayr United, before joining the Nike Football Academy.
His efforts would have earned him a contract with then-Championship club Huddersfield Town, but injury prevented him from doing so, and he ended up signing with League Two side Grimsby Town in 2017. Dembele moved to Peterborough United the next year, where he was allowed to showcase his abilities.
He played 148 games for the Posh, scoring 31 goals, and was part of the team that won promotion to the Championship in 2020-21. Dembele left Cambridgeshire after four seasons to join AFC Bournemouth, where he was promoted to the Premier League and made six appearances.
After a failed loan experience in Ligue 1 with Auxerre, the 27-year-old joined Birmingham City at the beginning of the season. Dembele, who was part of the team that was relegated from the second division, could be given another chance in the Championship, with Blackburn allegedly interested in the former Nike Football Academy graduate.
What is Demebele capable of conjuring at Blackburn
Dembele has the potential to be an enormously significant player for any Championship team, but he has yet to reach the heights that some have predicted. Gary Rowett, his previous manager at Birmingham, did not hesitate to describe the former Peterborough winger’s potential, as long as he was determined to realize it:
“I’ve seen him over the years, he is such a talented player. I think when he matches that with the energy and the workrate and the determination then he could be almost unstoppable in this division. It’s making sure we get that”.
Dembele’s versatility would allow Blackburn to be more flexible with the systems they deploy and the positions he plays in. The winger’s ambipedal talent allows him to play on both the right and left wings, albeit he prefers the latter. Dembele’s versatility allows him to play in both the 4-2-3-1 configuration used by Eustice last season and the 4-3-3 formation if the Blackburn boss changes his mind.
The Birmingham City player’s statistics highlight the potential influence he could have on a Blackburn side next season. He scored seven goals in 33 Championship games (starting only 23 of them), with a 68% shot accuracy and an average of 1.86 shots per 90 minutes.
Dembele prefers to face his opponents in one-on-one situations, with an average of 3.45 successful dribbles and 7.4 duels won per 90 minutes for Birmingham last season. These stats then enabled him to generate 1.73 opportunities per 90 minutes on average, despite being a member of a Birmingham side that was relegated to League One with the fifth lowest average possession in the league (43.9%).
His ingenuity and potential impact would undoubtedly benefit Blackburn, especially given Sammie Szmodics’ expected exit this summer. Dembele’s contract with the Blues runs until 2026, so there is no reason to sell, although a return to the Championship is undoubtedly on the winger’s wishlist.
Dembele part of a quartet of signings?
According to the same report, Blackburn is interested in signing Stoke City midfielder Lewis Baker, AFC Bournemouth defender James Hill on loan, and Makhtar Gueye from Belgian second-tier team RWD Molenbeek.
Gueye scored 11 goals in 35 games in the Belgian first league last season, despite his team’s relegation. Rovers would be able to capture the striker’s services for a fee estimated to be in the region of £2.5 million, with monies collected by the sale of Szmodics likely to cover the cost.
