Lionel Messi‘s assessment of a young Ousmane Dembele re-emerged in 2025 after the French winger inspired Paris Saint-Germain to their first-ever Champions League title over Inter Milan. Those comments are now worth looking at again, after PSG’s back-to-back success in that same competition, with the Frenchman once again pivotal.

While not getting on the scoresheet vs Inter, the winger was in sensational form, setting up his teammates twice en route to a record-breaking 5-0 victory. He then scored a penalty vs Arsenal, as PSG drew with the Gunners in normal time before winning the shoot-out.

As a result of the European triumph, Dembele has now made himself a frontrunner to win this year’s Ballon d’Or, having been awarded the prize in 2025. While it has taken some time, it is safe to say that the forward has lived up to the potential his teenage self had, which makes Messi’s comments back when he first joined Barcelona all the more interesting.

Messi’s Praise of Dembele Vindicated

The Argentine’s prediction may end up being spot on

After impressing at both Stade Rennais and Borussia Dortmund, a then 20-year-old Dembele would make the move to Camp Nou in a monstrous £135.5 million deal in 2017. By 2018, things had already shown signs that they weren’t exactly going to plan, but as per talkSPORT, Messi continued to back the budding star, saying:

Though the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s proclamation appears to have come true, it never did at Barcelona. Recurring injuries and inconsistent form meant that Dembele never reached the heights hoped of him, scoring just 40 times in 185 appearances.

He moved to PSG in 2023, however, and under Luis Enrique, his fortunes have changed dramatically. As a result of a brilliant couple of seasons, he could now follow in Messi’s footsteps by becoming a rare player to lift the Ballon d’Or more than once (just 10 have managed that so far). He was effectively the replacement for Messi at the Stade de Princes, and he has more than filled the void left by the magical Argentine.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 02/06/2026.

Tottenham are planning a major overhaul of their playing squad this summer following back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League.

Spurs avoided relegation to the Championship on the final day of the season this year, beating Everton 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to stave off dropping down to playing second tier football for the first time since 1978.

Roberto De Zerbi was the saviour – Spurs’ third head coach of the season doing the one thing that was asked of him when he arrived at the club at the end of March – rescuing them from the drop.

Now, the Italian will want to put his stamp on the squad and ensure the 2025/26 season never happens again. Owners the Lewis Family have already pledged investment in the playing squad, and it will need to be significant if De Zerbi’s comments after the end of the season are anything to go by.

The Spurs boss said that he had “10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay”. With a 25-man squad available for the Premier League, that suggests he might need at least 13 new players to come in, although he may not have been counting long-term injured stars or those out on loan in his assessment of the squad he inherited.

Tottenham have already agreed deals to sign defenders Andy Robertson from Liverpool and Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth, with the pari free agents after their contracts at Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively came to an end.

But where else does De Zerbi need to strengthen?

Goalkeeper and defender deals

It looks like Guglielmo Vicario will depart the club, with Inter Milan his most likely destination this summer. Club captain Cristian Romero is also expected to leave, while Spurs could also look to cash in on Radu Dragusin, who does not seem to fit under De Zerbi – nor any other manager truth be told.

Highly-rated centre-back Luka Vuskovic could be given a chance, but the likelihood is he will get another season on loan under his belt after signing a new contract with the club. Ben Davies looks set to stay and sign a new deal too.

A new No.1 goalkeeper, or another keeper to challenge the reinvigorated Antonin Kinsky is a must this summer. The likes of Bart Verbruggen, Anatoliy Trubin and Lucas Chevalier have all been linked.

With Robertson and Senesi coming in, there’s probably space for one more centre-back. Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton would be the obvious – and best – choice, having played under De Zerbi before.

Robertson will be competition for Destiny Udogie at left-back, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence the right-back options.

Midfield moving pieces at Tottenham

Joao Palhinha will return to Bayern Munich following the end of his loan spell, but De Zerbi has already admitted that he “100%” wants to sign him permanently. Palhinha also wants to return, with his preference on coming back to Spurs before heading to Sporting CP, who also want him.

With Conor Gallagher already signed in January and Rodrigo Bentancur showing his importance to the team when he returned from injury, there may not be too many more deals to be done in the two positions in front of the defence in De Zerbi’s famous 4-2-3-1 formation.

Youngsters Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall will surely be trusted more following a pre-season with the Italian.

One other player from Brighton has been linked – Carlos Baleba. He is likely to cost upwards of £80million, but is another who knows how to play in De Zerbi’s system and would be an upgrade on what Spurs already have.

Moving into the forward positions

De Zerbi has a plethora of options in the trio of positions behind the main striker in his new squad, although he is waiting on many of them to be fit.

Xavi Simons will probably be out until 2027, with Wilson Odobert not back until October at the earliest. Dejan Kulusevski was not see all season, but it is hoped he will return for the start of the season. Mohammed Kudus suffered a setback in his recovery, but he should be back for the start of the season too.

De Zerbi was able to call upon James Maddison in the final few weeks of the campaign, coming off the bench to make good cameo appearances when Spurs needed it most.

With Mathys Tel and the returning Mikey Moore to add to the mix, there is strength in depth in the positions in and around the main striker – particularly if they sign Savinho from Manchester City – but it is perhaps that No.9 that Tottenham need to upgrade the most.

Dominic Solanke has been another who has suffered with injuries this season and has not been able to get into any sort of rhythm, while Richarlison was Spurs’ top scorer, but never really got into proper goalscoring form.

Both could leave, both could stay, but it is imperative that De Zerbi signs at least one, maybe two new frontmen this summer.

Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Iliya Zabarnyi this summer, according to Dave OCKop.

The Reds are in the market to bolster their squad this summer after a disappointing campaign, which saw them opt to part ways with manager Arne Slot over the weekend, and advance in their move to bring in Andoni Iraola as his immediate replacement.

But now the club is looking at the transfer market to strengthen the squad and shape it in the image of the new manager, and that has seen them presented with a chance to bring in a former player of his.

Liverpool Offered Ilya Zabarnyi

Zabarnyi, who has been described as ‘unbelievable’, was a key part of Iraola’s Bournemouth side in the 2024/25 season and earned himself a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain last summer as a result.

But the Ukraine international has struggled for regular game time under Luis Enrique, falling behind Marquinhos and Willian Pacho in the pecking order, and featuring for just 213 minutes in the Champions League, while he made 26 starts in Ligue 1.

The lack of minutes in the Champions League campaign has seen the player open up to a potential exit from the Parc des Princes, and the French champions are also open to letting him move on if they can recoup the £57m fee they paid to sign him.

It’s reported that the player’s representatives, who also represent Curtis Jones, offered the defender to Anfield chiefs during talks about the midfielder’s future recently, and exploratory talks have since been held as a result.

A new centre-back is expected to be brought in after Ibrahima Konate departed the club following the expiry of his contract, and while Jeremy Jacquet is set to arrive, Zabarnyi would be an exciting addition to the squad.

Zabarnyi Would Be Expensive Gamble

Iraola will know better than anyone else what Zabarnyi can offer to the Liverpool squad, but it would still represent a rather expensive gamble to bring him in for what the team need currently.

Virgil Van Dijk is still one of the first names on the team sheet, despite turning 35 before the new season begins, and while Jacquet is young and inexperienced, Liverpool clearly trust him as they spent £60m on him.

The Reds also have Giovanni Leoni once he returns from injury, and Joe Gomez in the squad. Zabarnyi has the quality to compete with them, but if he wants to be first-choice, then it may not be the right fit.